Luck's Got Nothing To Do With It
by littlebluewhalen
Summary: An AU in which Marinette never became Ladybug because the previous owner threw the Miraculous away! Sent on a magical quest with her unlucky Chat by her side, will they be able to find the lost miraculous? Will Marinette ever become Ladybug? Rated T for light swearing!
1. Marinette Has A Strange Few Days

**A/N: After an incredible amount of support on Tumblr (my tumblr is also littlebluewhalen), I decided to write this! Updates will likely be irregular and kind of far apart in time, because I'm starting college again tomorrow. But I aim to make each chapter pretty long, so I don't think I'll need to make a ton of chapters for this whole story. But we'll see! I have the skeleton of this story written up, so I know what I want to do and what twists are coming.**

 **Warning: this story will have tons of friendship fluff, but it's also possible that it will transition to shipping between Marinette x Adrien/Chat. We'll see though! I haven't decided.**

 **I hate making OCs, so points to whoever can guess which show the previous Ladybug miraculous is, and from what show.**

 **I don't own Miraculous Ladybug ~**

 **And with that, enjoy!**

 **Song Inspiration: Falling For U by Peachy!**

 **/**

Darkness surrounded her as her curled blonde hair flew out behind her. She ran down the bridge, tears stinging her face. She tried to block out the screams, the begging, but she couldn't. She lifted her head up, eyes wide open. Her breathing was ragged and her body was haggard. She looked around frantically and ran to the edge of the bridge, looking down. Her tears rolled down her face as her sobs wracked her body.

"Please, Mami! Please, listen to me! Don't do this, I'm begging you! Don't do this to me!" Tikki screamed. "Please, just return it to Master Fu if you must! But don't do this! I don't want to be lost or alone…" Tikki yelled, floating in front of Mami's face. Her golden locks seemingly glowed in the moonlight, and her pale skin looked almost ghostly. The waves of the river far below crashed against the support beams of the bridge.

"No, I- Tikki, I can't! This is driving me insane! I'm going mad! I can't – I can't do this! I thought I could, but… Tikki, this is the only way. Master Fu hasn't been seen since he made Chat Noir and I do this! He… he put this on us! He guilted me into this! I never wanted this miraculous, I…" her sobs interrupted her once more, and though Tikki was frightened, sympathy still flooded her body. She sat on Mami's hand and patted it.

"Mami…" her soft voice rang out above the noise.

Mami shook her head, and her grip on the bridge tightened.

"I didn't know this job would come with all of this baggage. No one told me this, no one warned me! Tikki, if I don't do this, I'll never be free. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Please, forgive me." Mami choked out, her voice low. Tikki said nothing, but sat in shock. She really didn't know what to do.

In one swift moment, Mami's hands flew to her ears, and she ripped the earrings out. All she heard was a cry from Tikki before she stuffed the earrings back in her box. She clutched the box and held it to her forehead, crying. "I'm sorry…" She whispered.

She threw the box into the river below before sliding down the side of the bridge. She pulled her knees to her chest and buried her face in her arms, listening to the clash of the water below her, as the miraculous sunk deeper and deeper into the waves…

/

Marinette shot up from her bed, panting. She looked around to confirm that she was still in her room. Her eyes were wide and glossy, and her breathing was uneven. She brought her knees to her chest and set her head on them. She screwed her eyes shut and tried to calm her breathing.

Marinette had strange dreams before, but in this one she truly felt like she was drowning. She was struggling to get out of the waves, to swim, but she couldn't. It was like she was confined.

Marinette shook her head and glanced over to her clock. She let out a groan and rubbed her eyes. It was about two minutes before she'd have to wake up for school anyway…

/

"Mari, you look pretty tired." Alya said bluntly. Marinette was currently sitting in her seat, head in her arms, eyes closed.

"Yeah, you look not so good." Nino added, turning around in his seat to look at her. Marinette groaned as Alya glared at the boy. Nino put his hands up and smiled sheepishly as Adrien rolled his eyes.

"Dude, really? You okay, Marinette?" Adrien asked kindly, turning in his seat. At his voice, she looked up and shrugged.

"I kept tossing and turning last night. And I had a really weird dream that woke me up two minutes before my alarm." Marinette complained.

"Oh, that's the worst." Nino said. They all nodded in agreement.

"What was your dream about? You usually have kind of odd dreams, but this one seems stuck with you." Alya asked. Marinette nodded, putting her cheek in a hand and closing her eyes again. She yawned.

"Well, it was about-" And suddenly, Marinette was cut off by Ms. Mendeleiev.

"Good morning everyone! Did you all have a good weekend?" Her voice rang out.

/

Marinette walked home slowly, enjoying the fresh air. She appreciated how calm her community was. It was always so safe, and she thought for a moment how lucky she was. The sound of birds chirped all around her, and the laughter of children were carried on the nice spring breeze. Bugs whirled around, setting on the flowers of peoples' gardens. Marinette sighed, content with her life. She was excited to go home and bake with her parents until she would inevitably do homework… that made Marinette internally groan, but she suppressed it. She wouldn't let that ruin the beauty of the day. Marinette closed her eyes and took a deep breath, raising her arms above her head and stretching. She knew that this might look odd, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, but she didn't care. She was in such a good mood.

Marinette felt a weight on her hand and opened her eyes, bringing her arms down. She smiled at the ladybug that landed on her hand.

"Hello, little one! Fancy taking a walk with me?" She giggled to herself. She started her walk again, the ladybug never leaving her hand. She hummed on the way home, a skip in her step. She felt another prick on her hand and looked down again in confusion. Three ladybugs had now made their home on her hand. She laughed. "Today must be my lucky day." She made her way home and opened the bakery door, turning around to shoo the ladybugs off of her hand.

"Time to go home, li-ittle… ones….?" Marinette trailed off. As she turned around, she saw a whole herd of ladybugs, on the ground and buzzing in the air. She laughed uneasily, put the ladybugs that were on her hand on the ground, and quickly went inside of her home.

"Ah, Marinette, you're home! How was your day, my girl?" Tom strolled into the storefront and ruffled her hair, to which she laughed.

"Papa, not my hair!" She yelled, running past him and into the kitchen. "Mama! What do we have to do today?" Marinette asked, coming to her mother's side.

"Well, mon petit chou, we're about to have a rush- a lot of people have asked for orders in advance, and your Papa here-" Sabine glared playfully at Tom as he entered the kitchen – "made them due at the same time. So, we've prepared all of the orders, and the customers are coming in soon. It'd be a great help if you could work the register while we finish up matching the orders with the receipts. Go put your things upstairs first, sweetie."

"Of course! Be right back!" Marinette smiled at her parents then walked to her room.

/

"Okay, enjoy, Mr. Haprele!" Marinette said, smiling.

"You as well, Mari! Thank you!" He tipped his hat and took his box of pastries, walking out of the store. Marinette slumped against the counter and let out a sigh. Her exhaustion was coming back to her.

"Sweetie, thank you so much for your help. Go on ahead to bed." Sabine came behind Marinette and kissed her head lightly.

"Thank you, Mama. I do have some homework to do. Goodnight!" She replied, turning around to hug her mom. She walked through the kitchen and up the stairs, thinking about her homework for the night.

"Ah, Marinette! Heading to your room?" Tom asked. He was sitting on her couch, watching the news. Marinette nodded.

"Got homework to do, Papa." She came over and sat next to him on the couch, glancing at the television. Her face screwed into confusion. "Chat Noir?" She asked aloud. Tom nodded.

"Yeah, he's been in the news a lot recently. Apparently, people think he's some type of fairy book superhero or something." Tom responded. Marinette frowned.

"Like, with powers and stuff?" She asked. It was unbelievable.

"Mhm," Tom hummed, "There's about to be a live video of him. Apparently, something's happening over on the west end." He responded. Marinette tucked her legs under herself on the couch and watched closely.

"Hi, this is Nadja Chamack on the scene of what appears to be a gruesome fight. In recent weeks, a 'hero' known as Chat Noir has cropped up here and there. While no one knows what he was fighting, we may have the first look tonight. Is he just a kid in a cosplay suit, or is he the real deal? Does he have powers, or is it a ruse? In just a few moments, we're going to see the live, unedited footage and find the truth." The screen then cut to an explosion setting off on the roof of a building, followed by shouts and screams.

"Oh my god!" Marinette exclaimed. 'Chat Noir' ran along the roof, someone hot on his heels. In an instant, he had jumped to a different rooftop. He suddenly stopped, put his staff on the rooftop and turned 180 degrees, jumping onto the attacker. He fought the attacker with a flurry of kicks and punches before throwing them, with an incredible strength, away from him. He then ran down the side of the building on all fours, somehow clinging to it.

"You cannot run from me, Chat Noir. For too long, you have thwarted my plans." A demonic voice sounded from the attacker.

"Then leave these people alone." Chat replied. He was heaving, clearly exhausted. "You're not getting it. No way. I won't let you, and I won't let you hurt these people." Chat launched himself at the attacker again, who was now on the ground. "Cataclysm!" He shouted. His hands were aglow with a black and green light, and he grabbed the attacker's hat. It crumbled, and the attacker fell to the ground. Chat growled as he watched the butterfly fly away, unclean.

The rest of the live footage was a blur; the crew called for help for the person, and Chat fled the scene as they tried to ask him questions. The live scene turned into a garbled mess of worried voices.

"Woah," Marinette uttered, completely stunned. "Was that… real…?" she asked, looking at her father. He was also shocked.

"I mean, it was live, it had to be… unless it was all a set up, but… if it was, that is one athletic kid, to jump from roof to roof like that…" Tom trailed off. He then shook himself, "Ah, we will worry about it in the morning. Do your homework, love. Goodnight, I love you." He said, hugging his daughter. Marinette snapped out of her reverie in an instant and smiled.

"Thanks Papa! I love you too. Sweet dreams!" She replied, before getting up and making her way to her room.

/

Marinette had done all of her homework and had gotten ready for bed, but she couldn't sleep. Chat Noir had been on her mind since the news.

After all… this was the first time she was hearing about this, ever. So… why was he in her dream last night…? Why was he mentioned? Was the girl in the dream someone like him? The questions had been plaguing her all night.

She groaned and rolled over, putting her face in the pillow, pulling her covers up over her shoulder. She was on her side facing the wall. She sighed and looked up at her wall.

"Not even you can help me with this one, Adrien." She said to one of her posters.

/

"Wow, Marinette, you look rough again." Nino said. Alya groaned in frustration and leaned over her desk and smacked his hat off of his head.

"Thanks." She grumbled in response. Again, her arms were folded on her desk, but her chin was propped up on her arms, looking around the classroom.

"It's a miracle you even made it here, today. And not late! Proud of you, Mari." Alya said, patting her shoulder. Marinette smiled tiredly at her, forever grateful for her best friend.

"Thanks, Alya. And hey, where's A-" however, Marinette was cut off by Nino.

"Woah, Adrien, and I thought Marinette looked tired. Holy shit, what happened to you, bro?" Nino asked, true concern lacing his voice. Adrien plopped into his seat, dropping his bag next to his chair. He just let out an incoherent response.

"Dude, if it's that freaky father of yours keeping you up again, I swear I'll-"

"Adrikins!" A shrill voice rang out. Nino's brows furrowed in annoyance and he rolled his eyes. "Adrikins, what's wrong?" Chloe asked, coming up to him and pouting.

"Nothing, Chloe. Just had… a long night." He responded tiredly.

"Uh, doing what? I came by and that Nathalie girl said you weren't home." She replied, narrowing her eyes. "You didn't forget about our date, did you?" She asked. Marinette rolled her eyes.

"I was at a photoshoot, and yes, it was a late night one. And it wasn't a date. We're doing a project together, Chloe." Adrien replied.

"But you didn't even tell me?" She whined.

"I didn't know it was happening…" he mumbled. Chloe hmmphed in annoyance, to which Marinette snorted.

"Oh? Do you have a problem, Little Miss Wannabe?" Chloe shot at Marinette, eyes sharp. Marinette glared at her.

"Chloe, just go back to your seat. The poor boy's tired enough without you yapping in his ear." Alya replied, jumping to defend her friend. Nino whistled and Adrien stifled a smile.

"Well, I n-" Chloe attempted to reply, but was interrupted by Ms. Mendeleiev.

"Ms. Bourgeois, please go back to your sleep. Class, please pass your homework forward."

Chloe growled before turning around and going back to her seat. The class shuffled their papers forward in silence.

"Very good. Now, for today, we will be…" The teacher trailed off. "Do you… hear that…?" She asked. The class went dead silent, listening. It sounded like distant thunder. Suddenly, the sirens in the school went off. "Class, evacuation protocol! Everyone to the lower floor, keep away from the windows! My only guess is an earthquake. Everyone out!" She commanded. But the sirens were loud, and the shaking was growing stronger. Everyone was panicking. A message came over the loudspeaker, emergency instructions, but everything was in utter bedlam.

Marinette snatched her bag and grabbed Alya and looked around. The room was in chaos; everyone was yelling and calling their parents. Marinette stood up.

"Everyone!" She screamed. All heads turned her, and she suddenly had an overwhelming urge to sink into the floor. But she wouldn't let that stop her. "Follow the teacher's orders! Grab a buddy and get to the lower floors! Get away from the windows!" She yelled. No one moved; they just stared at her. "Now!" She yelled. Suddenly, everyone was out the door in a flash, holding onto someone else. She whipped around to Alya, grabbing her hand and pulling her up. She looked towards Adrien and Nino, who were already leaving. They quickly fled down the stairs with the boys, the professor behind them. The school was gathered at the lower levels, being organized by the principal.

Marinette did a headcount.

"Wait… where's Adrien?!" She asked frantically. Her head was spinning a million miles a minute. He was in the classroom, wasn't he? Did he leave? She saw him leave! Her breathing had become rushed and she was starting to hyperventilate. How did this all happen so fast? It was just the start of a day! Life was moving too fast and she wasn't sure what was happening. She whipped her head around, but all of her thoughts were crashing into each other, and the clash of the voices of the students were creating a cacophony so loud that she-

"Chat Noir!" Alya exclaimed. Marinette turned to her friend.

"What?" Marinette asked, bewildered. Why did Alya care about that right now?!

"Look, he's on a news broadcast again! He's fighting another attacker! It's not an earthquake at all." Alya responded. Marinette wasn't sure if that made her feel better or worse.

"Mari! Adrien was with me when he left, but I don't know where he went when we got down here- regardless, I think he's okay. He wouldn't intentionally put himself in danger." Nino came up beside her and patted her back to calm her down. She nodded and took a breath.

"Here – this will keep you distracted." Alya handed Marinette the phone, and the three of them watched the news together.

Chat Noir's movements were sluggish, but he still remained sharp. The attacker was huge, but Chat was giving it his all. He jumped from building to building, running, and trying to assess his opponent.

"Why isn't he doing anything…?" Alya asked out loud.

"I think he's sizing him up. I mean, this thing is like an earthquake when it walks. It's taller than the buildings!" Nino replied. Marinette shrugged. She was interested in the video, but she couldn't get Adrien off of her mind.

Chat Noir had finally spotted whatever he was looking for – he lunged at his opponent, quick as ever, and landed upon its chest. He quickly scurried to the back and plunged his staff into an object, breaking it into pieces. He jumped back on a building, attempting to catch the butterfly that arose from the object – he jumped high in the air, grasping it in his hands, before landing lightly on his feet. He quickly turned the middle of his staff into a hollowed cage and stuffed the butterfly in.

He hopped down from the roof and ran to the attacker, who had been transformed back into a normal person. He helped them up, before quickly running over to the media.

"Chat Noir, what was that? Was that person that… thing?" The reporter asked.

"Listen – they're called akumas. That butterfly I collected was the cause. They prey on people's emotions and turn them into… things. You just saw it happen." Suddenly, a beeping was heard. "I have to go. Get that guy some help – he won't remember anything. Stay safe!" And with that, he bounded off.

Alya cut her phone off as the principal spoke up.

"Alright kids, the disaster is over. Go home for the day. Those of you that take the bus, they will be here in about 30 minutes. Please go back up to your classrooms to wait." He announced.

The kids shuffled about as they moved to their designated locations.

"Man, this sucks. I lost my key and my parents don't get home for like 2 more hours." Nino pouted. Alya patted his back.

"Well, you can come to my place, if you want. Alya, you can come too." Marinette replied before letting out a yawn.

"Yeah, and we can talk about this whole Chat Noir business! Nino, call Adrien and see where he is and if we wants to come, too." Alya replied. Nino nodded. Marinette was bright red, and she hit Alya's arm hard, to which Alya giggled.

"Adrien, bro! Where on earth did you go? We were worried sick!" Nino replied. "Well, actually, Marinette was the only one super worried. Anyway, wanna come to Mari's house? We're all going. School just ended because of that thing." Nino said. Marinette dug her face into her hands when she heard what Nino said, and Alya was full-on laughing.

"Sweet! We'll meet you there." And with that, Nino hung up.

"He said that his dad's on a trip and that Nathalie is allowing him some fun time! So he's going to come. He's at his house right now." Nino informed the girls. They all started walking out of the doors.

"I wonder why he left like that, though?" Marinette asked.

"Yeah, that was beyond weird." Alya asked. Nino shrugged. Soon, Nino put his headphones on and lagged behind the girls, who chatted amongst themselves. Alya looked behind them at Nino, who seemed to be off in his own world.

"Marinette, you do realize that Adrien is coming over, right?" Alya asked, wiggling her eyebrows. Marinette blushed again.

"Yes, I do, and I'm not going to be able to say a word around him, I know it! I've been doing better at talking to him in school thanks to you, but in my own house? I'll be a nervous wreck, Alya!" Marinette exclaimed quietly, in case Nino could hear. Alya smiled.

"Girl, it's really no big deal. We're all hanging out as friends. We'll have some pastries, play some games, and chat. And that's it. It'll be fine, you'll see!" Alya encouraged. Marinette couldn't help but smile. "But, this does probably mean that you'll have to take your posters of him down, you know? Or that would be weird." Alya added. Marinette's eyes grew wide as her brain stopped working.

"Oh, my god. Alya, Nino can't see them either! What should we do?!" She asked, looking at her friend, panic written on her face.

"I'll distract him in the kitchen while you run up and quickly – but thoroughly – take them down, okay?" Alya supplied. Marinette nodded.

"What would I do without you?" Marinette asked. Alya laughed.

"Probably die."

/

The group had finally made it to the bakery. Marinette was unlocking her door and welcoming her friends inside when her eye caught something.

"H-hey – watch out!" Marinette yelled. She was frozen to the spot. Across the street, an old man had fallen, his cane thrown against the ground, and a car was coming and –

Marinette took off.

"Marinette! Where are you-" Adrien asked, having just arrived on the scene. He saw…

Master Fu?

 **A/N: Okay, I know this one was super fast-paced. I'm sorry! I'm so used to writing one-shots now. I kind of did it on purpose to show how fast this is all going for Marinette – how her life is changed in almost an instant. I also just hate writing about, like, slice of life stuff with no drama. It just bores me.**

 **As the story picks up more, it'll be paced slower. I don't think we'll actually be getting to the plot until chapter 3, though.**

 **I'm already writing the second chapter, hopefully that'll be up tomorrow! Drop a review or two, and constructive criticism is definitely welcomed!**

 **x littlebluewhalen**


	2. Black Chats are Bad Luck

**A/N: Well, here it is! All polished and shiny. This one is the same length as the last one. I hope it satisfies! I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up, but I'm hoping it's soon. Maybe tomorrow, maybe next weekend? Not sure. For updates, follow my tumblr, same as my pen name!**

 **I do not own Miraculous Ladybug.**

 **Song Inspiration: Go Fuck Yourself by Two Feet.**

 **I hope you enjoy!**

Time slowed down for Marinette before she even knew what she was doing. Her limbs were working on her own. Her only thought was to help that man.

She threw her bookbag onto the ground and she ran, she ran faster than she ever has before. The old man was struggling to get up, feeling around for his cane, and the car was coming down the street. Marinette heard the cries of her friends, but they sounded so distant. One foot in front of the other, Marinette sped towards the man. The car was about to turn the corner, and the driver wasn't even paying attention, they were going to speed across the crosswalk. Marinette had to get to him.

And then, in one singular moment, it was over.

The driver looked up from his phone and slammed on his brakes, swerving, but too late.

Marinette, however, was not. She panted, on the ground. She was able to grab the man and pull him onto the sidewalk after he had grabbed his cane. She, however, tripped at the last moment, and it sent her back onto the ground. She was looking at the man to make sure she was okay, ignoring the burns of the scrapes on her skin and the dirt on her clothes. After she caught her breath, she helped him up.

"Oh my, you really saved my tail feathers. Thank you." He replied, bowing to her. She simply nodded in reply, too tired to speak. Both of their heads turned as soon as they heard shouting.

"What on EARTH were you thinking?!" Alya screamed. She was reaming the driver out for nearly hitting someone while being on their phone. "You nearly killed two people!" She shouted. She was in the driver's face through the open window. "Do you understand? You better NEVER be on your phone again!" Alya concluded her tirade, sending the driver a harsh glare. Tears sprung in his eyes and he nodded. Marinette and the old man came around to the driver's side of the car.

"Alya, it's okay," Marinette said hesitantly, trying to calm her fuming friend.

"It's really not, Marinette! This man would be roadkill right now if it wasn't for you!" She said hysterically. Marinette looked at Nino and Adrien, asking for help. They both looked like they were in shock. Nino surged forward first, taking Alya by the hand and lightly taking her away. Adrien was simply staring at Marinette with an open mouth. With a light blush, Marinette ignored Adrien's stare and turned back to the driver.

"I know you've just seen what your actions can do. Please be more conscious in the future, okay? Don't kill or injure anyone." Marinette said flatly. The driver sobbed.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry! I won't, I promise." He responded, wringing his hands together. Marinette nodded.

"Well, I have nothing else to say. Mr…. uh…."

Marinette looked to where the old man stood, only to find him gone. She turned around, looking for him, and frowned.

"Well, you're good to go. Make safe decisions." Marinette responded before turning back to her friends. "Hey, any of you guys see where that man went? I wanted to make sure he was okay…" Marinette asked. They all shrugged.

"Sorry Marinette, I didn't. I don't know how we didn't see him, though…" Adrien responded. He looked at the other two, only for them to shake their heads. Marinette shrugged.

"Well, lets just have a fun time, then." She replied, opening the door once more and allowing her friends to step inside.

"It's always so nice coming into your bakery, Mari. It smells so nice!" Adrien exclaimed. Said girl blushed brightly and stuttered.

"O-oh, uh, I uh, th-thanks, Adrien! It's, you know, the-uh-the pastries." She responded, staring at the floor. Adrien chuckled.

"Speaking of pastries, why don't we pick out some while Marinette gets… drinks!" Alya said. Marinette blinked at her, confused, before realizing what she meant.

"O-oh! Yeah! You guys can have some pastries on me! Just pick some that are in the display box. My parents are out for the day, so they might not be fresh, but they're still good." Marinette replied, aware of the fact that she was rambling, and excused herself.

Marinette ran through her house and up the stairs to her room, leaping and bounding up the stairs, taking them two at a time. In the wake of the accident, she had completely forgotten her Adrien posters!

She burst into her room, knocking her door against the wall and tore down all the posters, apologizing to each one as she went. She stuffed them all under her mattress, sighing in relief. Thank God for Alya. She sat on her mattress for a second before remembering that she was supposed to be getting drinks. She thrust herself up again and quickly ran back down the stairs. She ran into the kitchen and quickly poured everyone some lemonade before walking back into the storefront.

"So, I have lemonade! I hope that's okay. If not, I have water as well." She said, lightly panting. Nino and Adrien looked at her strangely, and Alya stifled a laugh. "Did you guys choose what you want?" She asked, behind the counter, catching her breath.

"Oh! Yeah. I'll take the bunny bun and a croissant, please!" Nino replied, his mouth practically drooling. Marinette giggled.

"I'll have my usual." Alya responded, rolling her eyes at Nino. "Keep it in your pants, Lahiffe. No one wants to see your drool." She jabbed, nudging him playfully. Marinette blushed and Adrien laughed.

"I can't! The sweets are always so good whenever Marinette brings them to school!" He responded.

"And you, A… Adrien?" Marinette asked shyly. He grinned at her.

"I'll have the cross bun and just a regular donut, please." She nodded and blushed. She brought out their orders one by one and placed them on plates.

"Follow me, your drinks are in the kitchen!" Marinette said, carrying two plates and balancing one between her bicep and forearm.

"Want some help, Mari?" Alya asked. She shook her head.

"Thanks, but I'm okay, as long as my clumsiness doesn't get the best of me. You guys are my guests after all!" She responded. "Grab a glass and we can go up the stairs and hang out there."

"Marinette, you are seriously too good to us." Adrien replied as they grabbed a glass and followed her up the stairs. Marinette hyperfocused on walking so she wouldn't trip over Adrien's words.

"You're gonna break the girl, Adrien. Tsk Tsk!" Alya teased.

"Alya, shut up!" Marinette squealed.

They finally made it to the livimg room, where Marinette successfully put the plates on the table. She plopped herself down onto the couch and turned on the TV. Alya and Adrien took seats next to her, while Nino laid onn the floor.

"You're not going to have any, Mari?" Alya asked. Said girl shook her head.

"Nah, I had a bunny bun this morning on my way to school! You all enjoy, though." She responded. They all dug in.

"'Nette, these are amazing! Holy shit dude. Your parents are way too good at baking." Nino said excitedly. Marinette giggled.

"I actually made the bunny bun myself! I'm glad you like it. I'm the only one who makes them." Marinette responded, grinning at him.

Nino's mouth dropped open. "Seriously? Oh my god, please marry me right now." He replied. They all laughed. "I'm dead serious."

"It'd be great! Marinette could run her own little bakery and Nino could hold music shows there! It'd be a dream come true." Alya swooned. Marinette laughed aloud.

"Alya, we all know that Marinette is married to her fashion." Adrien added in, chuckling a bit. Nino and Alya nodded in agreement with that.

"Speaking of, have you finished that dress yet, Mari?" Alya asked casually.

"Yes, actually! I-" Marinette stopped speaking as her attention drifted towards the television. "Chat Noir again…?" She asked, mainly to herself.

"Yeah, he's like a local celebrity now! Stopping all the bad guys." Alya said.

"He's a total badass." Nino tacked on.

"That seems like a lot for one person though, I feel bad. He should have a partner." Marinette said. She briefly thought back to her dream, but she shook her head lightly. She looked at her friends and noticed that Adrien had been staring at her. She blushed and quickly looked back to the TV.

"So, anyway, Mari- your dress?" Alya asked.

"Oh yeah! You guys wanna come up and see it?" She asked. They all agreed and turned off the TV before climbing the stairs, leaving their empty plates on the table.

"So it was inspired by spring, my favorite season! Manon actually drew the flowers on the fabric one time while I was babysitting her, so I thought I'd never be able use it, but inspiration struck one day." She replied. She brought the dress out from her closet and fitted it over the mannequin.

"That's prettier than I even thought it'd be, Marinette! Oh, good job!" Alya said excitedly. Marinette beamed.

"Are you going to wear it?" Adrien asked curiously.

"W-well, uh… I will at… at some point! For a special occasion…" Marinette replied. She mentally fist pumped at her ability to say actual human words.

"Hey, Mari, can we go to the balcony?" Nino asked, "I've never actually been up there."

"Thanks for your interest in my work, Nino!" Marinette teased. "Yeah, hold on." She climbed up and opened the latch, letting Nino walk out. They went back to the dress, before they were again interrupted by a voice.

"Woah… uh, Marinette?" Nino called.

"Yeah?" She responded, looking towards the skylight.

"Do you… farm ladybugs or something?" His voice called out. Adrien's head snapped up, and Marinette looked up through the hatch in confusion.

"Are you _on_ something, Lahiffe?" Alya asked.

"There's, like, a million of them! Come up and see for yourself!" He yelled. The three looked at each other and one by one climbed up the ladder.

Marinette was the last one up. She gasped in shock.

Ladybugs were surrounding her balcony. They were settled on the bars, on the furniture, and seemingly floating in the air. The golden light was floating through the air, bouncing off of the ladybugs in a way that seemed almost ethereal. It was a peaceful scene, the pure idea of tranquility, and yet Marinette's stomach still churned. Her eyes were wide as she stepped further onto her balcony, mouth wide in awe. She was in a trance; she couldn't see or hear her friends any longer. As she stepped into the center of the balcony, the ladybugs flocked to her.

"Woah! I- oh my god, get them off!" Marinette squealed, her trance effectively broken. Adrien's, however, was not. He stared in wonderment. Was she…? Was this a coincidence?

Alya was laughing so hard that she snorted. "Oh my god! This is unreal! Mari- Marinette, maybe your luck is finally turning!" she shouted through laughs. Nino, meanwhile, was attempting to bat them off of her arms and legs.

Marinette turned and shook her body, looking down into the street. She stilled. Was that… the same old man from earlier…? She stared, and she swore that he was staring back at her. She blinked, and in a moment, he was gone. She turned around back to her friends.

"This is so weird!" She yelled before walking back down into her room.

/

Again, Marinette lie awake in her bed, unable to fall asleep. These… things that were happening, she couldn't make heads or tails of any of it. The ladybugs were just plain weird, and the old man was creepy now. And her dream was still on her mind…

At least she had fun with her friends, though. Alya was right; she did have great friends, and it was a great day, aside from the whole… "akuma" thing. And the "almost getting run over" thing. She was able to talk to Adrien just fine, and they all played games and watched TV. It really was a good day.

She just wished that she knew what was going on. Why now? She wasn't too spiritual, but she'd be damned If these weren't omens. Omens for what, she couldn't know. She didn't know if she wanted to know.

Marinette flipped in her bed again, tossing and turning. She groaned into her pillow, trying desperately to get comfortable.

/

"Mami… Do you really know what you've done?" A small voice spoke. "You've… condemned me. I'm tied to these earrings… they are me. I'm… stuck. And, Chat Noir… You've left him alone. He's our other half, he needs you…"

The voice paused.

"I still forgive you, though."

/

"Goodbye, Mama! Goodbye Papa!" Marinette called as she made her way to school.

"Late again, Marinette?" Sabine called.

"Take a pastry, dear!" Tom added on, handing her a croissant.

"Thank you both, love you bye!" She said, grabbing and stuffing the croissant in her mouth. With that, she was out the door.

Marinette jogged to school, completely tired, and not in the mood for anything.

But at least she wasn't being harassed by ladybugs this time.

Marinette joined the mill of students going into the school. She was on the steps when she felt a tingle on the back of her neck. She turned around and stood completely still. It was that old man again. She stared him down.

Was he stalking her because she saved him? Was he just a creepy old man?

She blinked and again, he was gone. She frowned. Exactly what was going on with him? Was it just her mind playing tricks on her?

"Marinette?" a voice broke through her reverie. She snapped around to the source, only to lose her balance and almost topple down the steps. She let out a scream as she felt herself falling, only to be caught around the waist suddenly and roughly.

"Woah!-" Adrien yelled, struggling to keep his balance as they pulled them both up. He pulled her back, accidentally flinging her into his chest. She let out a nervous giggle.

"Thanks, uh, for the s-save…" she stammered. Her face was bright red. Adrien smiled at her.

"Don't mention it. After all, I'm the one that made you fall." He replied. "What were you looking at, anyway?" He asked politely.

Marinette jumped out of her Adrien daydream at that question. Her face immediately turned into a frown. "Well, there was this…" she trailed off. "You know what, it was nothing. Just had a rough couple days, is all! Just tired, yup! Well, we had better get to class if we don't want to be late and I can't really be late anymore, you know? Aahaha…" Marinette rambled. She then pulled Adrien by the arm up the stairs and through the school doors.

/

Marinette stepped out of the shower, tying her hair up into a bun and swiftly drying off with a towel. She changed into her pajamas, which consisted of gray shorts and a light pink shirt, and walked back to her room. Her parents were already in bed, so she walked quietly to her room.

Marinette was thankful for the normal day that she'd had. Well, aside from the old man at the start. Other than that, it was entirely, completely regular. Marinette stepped into her room, threw her dirty clothes into the laundry bin, and packed her things for tomorrow. She set out her clothes for the next day, then sat in her vanity and let her hair down. She brushed through it. Because it was short, it didn't take much for it to be brushed or to be dried. She sighed in contentment. Yes, normalcy, this is what she had been craving after consistent days of weirdness.

A loud "thud" resounded on her balcony, and Marinette knew that she had talked too soon. She bit her lip and looked towards her skylight hatch. Should she even check to see what it was? What if it was a murderer?

Marinette climbed up the loft to her bed to get closer. She heard a groan – was someone in pain? How did they get on her roof?

Marinette took a breath and threw open the hatch. Whoever was there let out a girlish scream, which soon turned into hisses of pain. Marinette climbed out and was not prepared.

"Chat Noir?" She asked, shell-shocked. He was curled on his side on the floor. She scanned his figure; he blended in with the nighttime darkness so well that it was hard to see him. She could, however, see the pain on his face. "What are you doing here?" She asked incredulously. He groaned.

"Trying to get back to my house, but… the pain was too much. I had to rest… this balcony looked nice. Sorry." He ground out. His arms were wrapped around his torso and his knees were pulled to his chest.

"Hey… do you need… help?" She asked. He shook his head, and she again bit her lip. "Yes, you do. You don't have anyone, do you? Hold on a minute." Marinette soothed him. He didn't respond. Marinette crawled back into her room and came back onto the balcony in a second, carrying something in her hands.

"You're in too much pain to treat yourself. Do you want me to bandage you up?" She asked. He stared at her in awe.

"You don't even know me." He replied, green eyes wide. She rolled hers.

"Well, I know you protect Parisians every day and never really get any thanks. So… let me thank you. Sit up." She responded, moving towards him. He let her. Soon, he was propped up against the bars of her balcony. The moon was full and the stars were shining down on them. His green eyes glowed in the darkness, staring at her, inspecting her. She was entranced. She skimmed his features; he was pale, and his hair was wild and golden. She was looking at him, over him. Scanning his every feature. She was pulled to him for reasons she wasn't able to explain. Before she knew what she was doing, a hand came up and felt one of his cat ears, to which he closed his eyes and sighed. He leant into her touch. She smiled down at him.

"Now… where does it hurt the most?" Marinette asked. He opened his eyes again and hummed.

"My ribs, mainly. The akuma tonight punched me clean in the chest." He responded, his breath hitching.

"Why do they keep coming back?" Marinette asked while retrieving the medical tape from her bag.

"Someone – the person I fight – creates them. Whenever someone feels extreme negative emotion, he turns that person into a person with powers fitting to what happened to them." Chat explained. Marinette frowned. That seemed very far-fetched, but, well… she _was_ treating an injured cat-themed superhero with his own powers.

"What's his name?" She asked. Chat shook his head.

"Okay… how are you going to beat him?" She asked. He intrigued her. She wanted to know everything about this black chat.

"Well… that's to be determined." He replied. Marinette looked up in alarm.

"What?" She asked, dumbfounded.

"What?" He shot back.

"So, you're telling me that you're getting your ass kicked on a daily basis without a plan on how to stop this guy?" Marinette said.

"Well… yeah. I can't beat him on my own, and the other that is my power level is… missing. But people have to be kept safe regardless." He responded. He knew he was treading on thin ice, talking about this with her, but she was bandaging him up.

"You're the definition of a hero. Now, zip down that costume." She commanded.

"What?!" He asked, cheeks glowing red.

'You heard me. I have to tie this gauze around your ribcage to keep pressure on it. It'll at least make your trip home easier." She said. He shook his head, but Marinette was on a mission now. "Chat, please. You're risking your life out there for us. You're getting this injured; just… let me repay you somehow." She pleaded. Slowly, he nodded. He closed his eyes and seemed to concentrate, and slowly, the part of his costume covering his torso and arms was peeled off of his skin on its own and faded into thin air. Marinette stared, slack-jawed. She knew he was a hero, but he was seriously ripped. Oh, also, the costume thing vaguely registered in the back of her mind.

"I know it's weird, but… the costume is part of me. I don't change into it; it's kind of the source of my powers. When I transform, I become the suit… if that makes any sense." He explained. She nodded.

"Right, well, uh, sit up more. I have to get all the way around." Marinette responded, clearing her throat. He complied and sat up straight, ignoring the pain. They were now face-to-face, and Marinette blushed lightly. "Hold this here for me for a second." She instructed, holding a piece of gauze where his left lower rib started. He nodded, simply staring at her, when she felt his claws graze her hand. Shivers ran up her spine.

"So, tell me about yourself." Chat stated. Marinette thought for a bit.

"Hm, there's not much," She answered, moving forward to wrap the gauze around his back, "My name is Marinette. My parents own a bakery, so I help run that," she was on her knees, so she sat up a bit on them, "I like to design clothes and then make them," she had to press herself against his chest to grab the gauze, "I go to school," she brought the gauze around to the front of his body, "and I'm patching up a beaten black chaton right now." She finished. Smiling teasingly at him, she gently removed his hand and repeated the process. His face was on fire. It was silent for a few moments as she focused on her work.

"How'd you get your powers? Radioactive cat?" She asked. Chat laughed.

"No, but I can't tell you that." He replied. She sat back on her feet and pouted. She turned to her first aid kit and pulled out scissors.

"Hold still…" she mumbled, cutting the medical tape. "and hold this against the other tape." Marinette said gently. She put the scissors and the rest of the tape in the kit, then pulled out a silver clip. She bent down further to put the clip in and sat back to admire her work.

"Well, I think that's all I can do, Chat." Marinette replied.

"I thank you, my princess." Chat replied. He closed his eyes again, and his suit was back on. Suddenly, a beeping was heard. "And, that's my cue. I've gotta get back home." He replied, standing up stiffly. Marinette rose with him.

"Well… visit again. And good luck." Marinette said. Chat steadied himself on the bars of her balcony, looking back at her with a Cheshire grin.

"Oh Marinette, don't you know that black cats are bad luck?" He asked before bounding off into the night.

/

Again, that black cat was on her mind all night.

 **A/N: I, personally, liked this chapter much more than the last one. I'm very excited for the next chapter, I have so much planned! Especially in the way of marichat… ;)**

 **Love you guys!**

 **X littlebluewhalen**


	3. A Miraculous Day

**A/N: Boy oh boy, there is some good fluff in this one – mainly friendship fluff. Also, a plot is unveiled! Enjoy!**

 **I do not own Miraculous Ladybug.**

 **Song Inspiration: Fireworks by First Aid Kit**

 **drugs by EDEN**

 **All The Ways by Wet**

Marinette awoke to the sounds of birds chirping peacefully outside of her window. Sunlight flooded her room as she roused herself just enough to revel in the tranquility of the morning. She laid there, navy hair splayed out over her pillows, under a thin blanket she had gotten as a gift from her mother some years ago. She sighed in contentment as her ears picked up the sounds of birds singing and children laughing in the Parisian streets. The light drifted into the room, pervading the darkness, alighting the dust particles in the air and making the room seem otherworldly. Marinette smiled and took a deep breath before sitting up and stretching. It was going to be a good Saturday.

/

"Alya!" Marinette called out to her friend, who was clad in jean capris and a t-shirt tucked into her pants. She was wearing her new white sneakers, Marinette noticed, as she ran over.

"Mari! Oh goodness, the dress looks so good on you!" Alya squealed. "You have to pose! I'm taking a photo right here, right now." Alya demanded, whipping out her phone. Marinette tried to run and hide behind the trees in the park, but Alya was right behind her.

The dress really was beautiful. It was a pastel pale blue color with small white dots placed symmetrically along the fabric. What really made it stand out, however, were the multicolored hand-drawn flowers on the lower half of the dress. The simple hand-drawn flowers were placed haphazardly around the fabric and were done in purples, pinks and reds. Marinette paired the dress with a light wash jean jacket and white flats, creating an over adorable look. Marinette also decided to wear her hair in a side ponytail today, making her really stand out against her usual look.

"Just let me get a picture so I can accidentally send it to Adrien!" Alya yelled "I'm doing this for you! Stand still!" Alya laughed, grabbing her friend's arm. Marinette gave in and pouted, turning to Alya.

"Ugh, fine. But only for Adrien." She replied, sticking her tongue out at her friend. Alya rolled her eyes.

"Now hush up and act like you're cute!" Alya commanded, walking back a few paces to get the best angle.

"You know I hate posing!" Marinette whined.

"Fiiine. Lean against the tree, put your palms against the tree, yeah like that… and tilt your head – no, more than that – more – that's good! And… smile!" Alya instructed before snapping a picture. "Oh Mari, you're so pretty!" Alya complimented, showing her friend the picture on her phone. Marinette blushed.

"Oh come on Alya, it isn't anything special…" Marinette responded, "and by the way, you're like the photographers at school! 'Tilt your head more, 90 degrees, break your neck, yeah that's perfect!'" Marinette mocked.

"Well, we'll let Adrien be the judge of that." Alya said with a smirk. Marinette's jaw dropped.

"You actually sent that to him?!" She squealed in disbelief, coming up to snatch Alya's phone from her hand.

"Yup! On Snapchat. I also asked him if he wanted to hang today. Oh, also Nino." Alya said, grabbing her phone back and stuffing it in her back pocket. Marinette groaned. "Don't you know not to be mean to the girl that's in charge of your love life?"

"It can't ever just be me and you anymore?" Marinette asked. Alya grinned.

"Not if you want to win Adrien over!" She sung at Marinette before turning and walking out of the park. Marinette crossed her arms and glared before reluctantly following her best friend.

/

It did end up just being the two of them; Adrien was at a photoshoot and Nino was with his family somewhere. Marinette and Alya had decided to go to a small café to grab lunch, as it was about two in the afternoon now.

"So then, I told her to buzz off unless she wanted me to buzz off her hair." Alya concluded her story. Marinette went into hysterics, tears started to form in her eyes from laughing too hard.

"You didn't!" She said in between laughs, holding her stomach. Alya just smirked and nodded.

"Oh my god, it's so funny because I can totally imagine you doing that." She said, still chuckling. She grabbed her water and drank from it and looked around their surroundings, a serene smile gracing her lips. People walked about, couples and families, friends and pets, adults and children; so different, so unique, each with their own story. Marinette smiled and vaguely registered Alya's words. Marinette's eyes continued to scan the crowd, wondering about each and every person, until a familiar flash of red caught her eye. She backtracked, and there he was, standing still in the crowd of moving people. Her eyes widened.

"Alya." Marinette cut the girl off with a sharp voice.

"Yeah?" Alya asked, noting the seriousness in her friend's voice.

"Look where I'm looking. Do you see him?" She asked sternly. Alya turned in her seat to look and scanned the area, but she was lost.

"Who am I supposed to be looking for?" She questioned.

"The old man I saved. He's right over there, wearing the same red shirt." Marinette replied, eyes never leaving the same spot. Alya looked again, but she couldn't spot him anywhere.

"I… I don't see him, Mari. Is… something going on?" Alya asked, turning back in her seat. Marinette looked at her, astounded that she couldn't find him.

"He's right- there…?" She replied, her statement becoming a question. She had lost him. In the blink of an eye, he ws gone.

Was she going crazy? Was he there? Was he even real at this point?  
Marinette decided, the next time she saw him, she was going to march right up to him and confront him. Ask him why he'd been stalking her and how he knew who she was and where she was-

"Marinette!" Alya said loudly, waving her hand in front of the girl's face. Marinette jumped in her chair, pushing back from the ground, almost causing the chair to topple backwards, until Alya jumped and grabbed her friend's arms, slowly pulling her back and steadying all four legs of the chair onto the ground again. Marinette stared at her in fear.

"Sorry! I zoned out- it's nothing, really. You did give me a scare, though!" Marinette responded, laughing nervously. She bit the inside of her lip ferociously. Alya stared at her for a minute before frowning and shrugging.

"I can't make you talk, but I'm always here, you know?" She said lightly, lazily staring at Marinette. Marinette nodded enthusiastically, smiling at the girl across form her.

"I know. Thank you, Alya!" She responded in her normal, cheerful voice.

The inside of her lip was bleeding.

/

As Marinette walked home, she thought back to her day. She really did have a ton of fun with Alya, aside from the-

Old guy?

He was across the street, staring at her. The streets were dark, save that streetlights, and no one was around. Marinette looked around her and then back to the man. She wasn't far from home now… she bit her lip in concentration, creating a fresh wound. She wanted to confront him, but she was scared; she didn't know who he was or what he was capable of. If he had been stalking her, was he dangerous? He was so small, though… she could probably just punt him like a ball and run, if things went too south…

Marinette determinedly took a step forward, crossing the street. The man's eyebrows raised, jarring her. She hadn't really seen him move whenever she's seen him. She steeled her nerves and continued her trek, soon coming to stand in front of the man. She stared down at him, and he said nothing. Silence enveloped them. The night time stars twinkled her above, giving her some reassurance that at least something would be witness, in case something happened.

Marinette broke the uncomfortable, suffocating silence. "What do you want with me?" She asked, her voice dripping with venom. Her eyes were slits.

"…Intriguing." He replied calmly. She waited, and he said no more.

"Who are you? Why are you stalking me?" She hissed at him, her anxiety increasing with every word. He stared at her.

"I-" she started, but was cut off.

"My name is Fu. Truth be told, I did not think you could see me." He replied. Marinette didn't know how to respond. Silence filled the air around the two again. Marinette swallowed.

"That's not a reason why." She said.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, why don't you tell me about these dreams you've been having?" He asked, hands on his cane, looking up at her. Her body suddenly froze over. She couldn't think, she couldn't speak. How… how would he know? What was even going on?

"You are very brave, Ms. Dupain-Cheng, to confront me, even though you do not know me. Alone, in the streets like this." He supplied. Marinette was still frozen, her mind desperately trying to process something.

How did he know who she was?

"How do you know who I am?" She asked carefully, not allowing her fear to seep into her voice. The man hummed.

"I've known about you for some time. Longer than you've been having those dreams of days past…" He answered, his voice monotonous. Marinette shook her head.

"This… this is crazy! You don't know anything about me! Just – leave me alone! Stop interfering with my life!" She yelled before turning on her heel and walking off into the night. She heard no response, and she wasn't sure if that comforted her or not. Once she was sure that he could no longer see her, she broke into a run.

/

It had been a few days since what Marinette dubbed "The Old Man Incident" that she hadn't told anyone about. How could she? Everything had been normal in the past few days, and Marinette had never been more grateful for it. She didn't have any dreams and she didn't see the old man. The only thing she did see was Chat Noir on the news…

Marinette was focused on her physics homework when she heard a rapping on her balcony hatch. It was night now, and Marinette was heading to bed after she was done the last problem. She chewed her lip and looked up in curiosity and bewilderment. She waited a moment, and…

There it was again. There was no mistaking it; that was a knock. She got up and made her way to the hatch before lightly tapping it and opening it. And there, in all the moonlight's glory, was Chat Noir.

"Chat Noir?" Marinette asked in confusion before climbing out onto the balcony.

"Hello, purrincess. I thought I'd stop by on my way home, since you did invite me, and everything." Chat said, winking at her. Marinette smiled but closed her eyes, refraining from calling him out on his awful pun.

"Do you need medical assistance, Chat?" She asked kindly, opening her eyes and looking at him. He smiled.

"Purrhaps." He responded, his tail twitching in delight. Marinette's face fell.

"If you don't knock it off with the puns, I'm not going to bandage you up." She responded flatly. He grinned at her, his white teeth glinting in the darkness of nightfall.

"Sorry, sorry. Bandages would be appreciated." He replied. She nodded and retrieved the first aid kit.

"Where is it this time?" She asked, sitting on the floor of the balcony. Chat sat with her, and the gloves covering his hands vanished. Marinette gasped.

"Chaton, what…?" She asked, looking him in the eyes. He grinned lightly, shrugging.

"'Tis the price to pay, m'lady." He replied casually. She kept staring at him.

His hands were bruised purple, and she couldn't tell if some of his fingers were broken or not. Some of them were swollen.

"Hold on." She murmured, leaving him once again. She took longer this time, and Chat couldn't help but wonder what she went to get.

"Okay," She replied, "I'm going to put this around your hands while I try to fix your ring fingers. It'll slow the swelling, or reduce it." She explained, wrapping a banded ice pack around his hands. He hissed at the cold touch, but didn't try to get away. Marinette rummaged through her first aid kit as silence settled over them. Chat was wondering if he should have even come…

"How does this happen, Chat?" She asked quietly, focused on her task. She put pulled cotton around his ring and middle finger on his right hand.

"Luck simply isn't on my side," He started, "and I mean that literally. My other half has the power of luck – they're my balance. Chat Noir is bad luck and destruction. The other is luck and creation. Ideally, the two work together. This happened because of my power. It's called cataclysm." He rambled lazily, watching her do her work. She was carefully wrapping gauze around his two fingers, his hand in her own. She was focused on her task, binding the two fingers together, bent down to watch his hand closely. He wasn't quite sure why he was divulging so much to her, but he didn't think it would harm anyone. Hawkmoth already knew this, anyway.

"What does it do?" She prompted, turning to the medical kit to grab a silver clip. He yawned,

"It destroys," He replied simply. She peered up at him while switching hands, urging him to go on. He thought for a moment. "It corrodes anything it touches in an instant. I use it against akumas, sometimes. This time, I went to use it, when they knocked me off of the building… thing is, when I activate it, I can't turn it off. I was flying towards a woman and her child, so… I used it on myself. I clapped my hands together. Hurt like hell." He explained. He internally wondered if he really was giving too much away, but at the same time, it felt so nice to talk to someone.

"Chat, that's awful." She replied. His head snapped up to hers. She was simply grasping his hands in hers now, settling them in her lap. Her knees were touching his legs as she scooted closer to get a better look at him. His green orbs stared into her blue ones, and he was instantly lost. This was their second time meeting, yet her voice held so much compassion, so much care. He scanned her face. To him, she was glowing. He was entranced by her.

"Chat, how did they… how did they not corrode?" She whispered, her eyes breaking the contact and looking at his hands again. She ran her thumbs over the surface of his hands and his heart leapt into his throat. He was blushing, and he knew it. He took a deep breath.

"Uh, my suit protects me somewhat. It absorbs some of the blows." He replied. He was still staring at her.

"Do they go away faster, too?" She asked. He shook his head, finally looking down to his hands.

"No. They stay as long as they would as a regular civilian. My other half, they can fix things. After a battle, they can fix everything – they rebuild buildings and heal injuries. That's why… I can't really defeat Hawkmoth without them." He said lowly. Marinette ground her teeth in anger. He didn't deserve this.

"Are you at least getting them treated?" She asked, looking up at him again. He looked away and didn't answer. " _Chat?_ " She asked, emphasizing his name. He lightly shook his head. It was weird to have someone care about him this much; no one even knew him as Chat, and he certainly didn't talk to anyone else as Chat. The only other person he could say who cares for him as much is Nino, but that's only as Adrien. Marinette… she's always cared for him and has done so much for him. Both as Chat and Adrien, even though she knew them as separate entities…

"What are you doing then, just living your days in pain?!" She asked incredulously. Her screech knocked him back into the present and out of his thoughts, but he said nothing and wouldn't look at her. "Why-"

"I can't, Marinette. No one knows who I am in my civilian form. And I can't let anyone know, either. If Hawkmoth found out, he could totally use it against me. So I can't get checked out, because that would raise questions in my personal life, questions I can't answer, and things would go badly." He replied. Nothing was said for a few moments. Anger bubbled inside of Marinette, angry for the boy sitting in front of her. Angry for how unjust it all was. She went back to her task quietly and wrapped his middle and forefinger together.

"Did you know the risks?" Marinette asked at last, shutting her first aid kit. Chat moved his hands as best he could with eh ice pack before looking up at her and raising an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah." He responded. Marinette frowned.

"Did you know it would be this bad? That you'd be doing this alone?" She asked, careful to keep her voice from rising.

"Yes. I did." He replied. Her eyes widened in shock.

"Then why do it?" She asked in disbelief. Chat shrugged and turned his head towards the sky. His green eyes traced constellations and Marinette simply stared in awe.

"Because… I still like this more than my 'real' life. This right here, sitting with you, running along the skyline… it's freedom. I seldom have it. And if lives get saved, then… that makes it all the more worthwhile." He replied, still staring up at the sky.

Marinette's heart shattered for the boy in front of her.

/

"Oh, what's this…?" A gentle voice asked the sea around her. "This isn't… yes… a miraculous…" The voice trailed off as she answered her own question. Washed up on the white beach was an antiquated wooden box with an engraving of a ladybug on it. Two pale hands reached out for it, timidly grasping the thoroughly soaked box, and pulling it out of the water and sand. The waves gently lapped at the beach shore as birds flew overhead, calling to each other.

"Oh my…" The voice spoke again. A seemingly plain woman was shown; she was fairly tall, with long, pale blonde hair. She was wearing a completely white dress, with a sunhat settling over her features. The wind brushed her hair easily, threatening her sunhat. Truly, the most interesting thing about this woman was the turquoise pin attached to the fabric of her dress on her right shoulder…

/

Marinette awoke with a start, scrambling to sit up in bed. She was sweating badly, and she looked at her alarm clock. It was two in the morning, and that dream had shocked her awake. It wasn't a scary dream by any means, but Marinette felt like she should know what it all meant. She put her head in her hands, grasping her hair and trying to breathe steadily. She took deep breaths and focused on them.

"What the hell…" Marinette whispered aloud.

Marinette couldn't figure out what made these dreams happen, and for some reason, she felt as if they weren't even dreams that she herself was conjuring. She knew that that was impossible, but if her mind was making them, why would they be sequential? And why did she always feel awful when she woke up? And why were these things be happening in her real life? A part of her mind wandered to the possibility that Chat Noir made these dreams happen. Well, the two were definitely related, but even that didn't make any sense.

It had been days since she patched his hands up, and he had been by every night since. If she was honest with herself, she never minded. She almost looked forward to it. The quiet comfort of being alone with someone, staring out into the city was almost… intimate. It was a time only to be seen by them, it was a time only for them. Sometimes they talked about life and other things, and sometimes they didn't talk at all. Every time though, Chat would thank her for her company, and she would say that he didn't have to thank her because she enjoyed it, too.

She questioned him about the source of his powers, but he adamantly refused to tell her. Marinette, however, had a carnal curiosity, a need to know. She felt like all of her answers lied in this single answer. She needed his answer to be the answer to everything.

Marinette rolled over and tried to go back to sleep.

/

"Dupain-Cheng."

No one responded.

"Ms. Dupain-Cheng?"

Silence.

"Absent."

The clamour of chatting arose once more after homeroom concluded.

"So, where's 'Nette today, Alya?" Nino asked, turning around in his seat. Adrien turned around as well.

"Honestly? She said she was sick, but I feel like something's going on with her." Alya said, concern embedded in her voice.

"What do you mean?" Adrien asked curiously.

"Well, like… I know she zones out, but lately its been happening way much. And she says she's having these dreams but she won't tell me what they are. It's like they're affecting her. And, well… something weird happened a week ago." She explained. She briefly looked around the room, and Adrien and Nino leaned in. "We were eating lunch at a café, and she totally stared at nothing for a while, completely ignoring me. She looked scared and pissed, and she suddenly cut me off and told me to look where she was looking. She claimed that the guy that she saved from getting hit a little bit ago was there, but, he wasn't." She told them. Adrien's eyes snapped wide.

"Holy shit, that's creepy!" Nino said loudly. Alya lightly smacked his arm, shushing him.

"That's… wow." Adrien replied, completely flabbergasted. His thoughts were lost within each other. Is this because of him? Why was this happening to her? Is it possible that she is his lost Ladybug? Could it be…?

"Should we call her?" Nino asked. Alya shook her head.

"I already tried. No luck." Alya responded.

Suddenly, the bell rang, and the day commenced.

/

"Chat, I need to know. Please…" Marinette whispered. "I know it's a lot to ask, and I can't quite explain why, but I have to know. Please trust me…" she pleaded.

There were no akumas today thankfully, but Chat still stopped by.

"Mari…" He said hesitantly, "I… I just really don't think that's a good idea."

In the two weeks that Marinette and Chat had known each other, they had grown quite comfortable with each other. To each, with every word and conversation, a new world was opened up.

Marinette was currently sitting on the fence of her balcony, overlooking Paris. Chat was standing on her balcony, resting his arms on the fence, allowing her to lean on him for stability. Her right hand absentmindedly brushed his ears as his tail flicked back and forth slowly. Her left hand grasped the fence tightly.

She had surprised him tonight by turning on her lights. Outdoor fairy lights were wrapped all the way around on fence, alighting the balcony in a beautiful glow. Chat thought it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. It almost reminded him of candlelight; he thought Marinette looked ethereal in it. It lit up her blue eyes in a way that he couldn't explain; it brought warmth and life to them, and he was trapped forevermore. Her hair was so soft and her face was so inviting and he-

He was getting too close, and he knew he needed to stop.

"Chat," her timid voice broke the silence and he looked over at her, green meeting blue, "weird things have been happening to me. And while I can't understand them, I… I think you are the key to my understanding. I feel like… your answer will be my answer. I need help, and I can't turn to anyone else." She finished. Her voice was so soft, it seemed as though it would be lost on the breeze, but Chat heard her loud and clear. He turned his head down and shut his eyes, sighing.

"Does the word miraculous mean anything to you?" He asked at last, watching her. Her body suddenly stiffened, and her eyes widened.

Her brain shot back to the woman on the beach.

"…Yes." Marinette responded, eyes shut. It was as if getting the word out pained her. Chat's eyes shot wide, staring at her.

"My ring is my miraculous. It gives me my power. A tiny, magical creature controls the miraculous and gives me my power." Adrien said, letting the truth spill forth. Marinette opened her eyes and stared at him.

"Tikki." she whispered to herself, inaudible to the human ear. Luckily, Chat didn't just have human ears. His tail stopped flicking.

"What?" He asked. She shook her head.

"Chat," she started, "can… can the miraculous manifest in… a pair of earrings?" She asked, seemingly staring through him. She asked so quietly, so unbelieving. Chat shivered.

"Marinette, how did you know that?" He asked her, putting a hand on her shoulder. She jumped from the contact, breaking out of her trance. She flailed, pitching herself forward off of the edge of her balcony, only to be immediately caught by her Chaton. Her scream was smothered by his chest as he pulled her up and over the edge, setting her back down onto her balcony floor.

"Thank you, kitty. I'm sorry, I… I don't know what I'm saying." She said, laughing nervously. She rubbed the back of her head.

"Mari…" Chat whispered, staring at her with emotions she couldn't discern.

"Chat, it's – it's far too late. We both need to get to bed. You need to get your rest while you can…" She whispered, reaching up and ruffling his hair. He mutely nodded. They stood there for another moment.

Chat smiled, then reached for Marinette's hand, pulling it gently up to his mouth, and placing a gentle kiss on it.

"Until next time, princess." Chat said in farewell, bowing. Marinette giggled, and off he leapt into the night.

Marinette rushed down into her bed, too confused to think. Thoughts were ricocheting off in her brain at the speed of light. She had too many ideas, too many thoughts, too many assumptions, and there was no clarity to lift the fog.

Marinette knew who might be able to help her understand, however, and she set a mission for tomorrow.

She was going to question Fu.


	4. When in Doubt, Confront Fu

**A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates – college is officially kicking my ass and my life is on a downward spiral. But I'm still here, and I'm still working on my writing.**

 **Onward with the chapter!**

 **Song Inspiration: Studio Ghibli sountracks**

 **Honeybee by Steam Powered Giraffe**

 **Chinatown Blues by ODDEO**

 **Polaroids by Karma Wears White Ties**

 **/**

Marinette had a mission today: confront Fu. She didn't know where he was, or where he would show up again, but Marinette knew that the next time she saw him, she was demanding answers. She wasn't particularly angry anymore, but her confusion was taking over her life. As she devised theories and explanations, she dived further and further into a sea that was determined to swallow her whole, and her actual life was on the backburner.

Though she had been trying to act as normal as possible over the few weeks that this had all started, all of her friends could tell that something was up with her. She couldn't begin to explain it to them, however; she could barely explain it to herself. They'd think she was crazy.

Nino and Adrien mainly left her alone when she asked or accepted her explanations, though she noticed Adrien looked slightly suspicious, and that made her skin crawl. He wasn't anything compared to Alya, however; the girl was determined to find out what was going up with her best friend, and also seemed slightly hurt that Marinette was withholding things from her. Every day Alya would dig deeper and deeper into Marinette's excuses, and though Marinette felt incredibly guilty about it, she knew that she'd never be able to give Alya the explanation that she wanted.

Marinette needed to get to Fu and have this whole thing over with. And that's how Marinette found herself in a secluded park, far away from the city, her parents or her friends. Marinette didn't know how, but she knew that Fu would show up.

In the meantime, Marinette set her bike against a tree and sat in the grass, pulling her sketchbook out of her drawstring backpack, and drawing inspiration from the scenery around her. She took a deep breath and relaxed. It was nice to be alone sometimes and not think. Marinette rested the back of her head against the bark of the tree and closed her eyes. She let everything come to her.

Birds were singing and chirping all around her. The grass was soft and brushed against her bare legs. A gentle breeze caressed her face. The soothing sound of a stream danced around her ears faintly. The air was fresh and the entire park was seemingly untouched. Marinette had ridden her bike through the trails, through the mass of trees, past branching dirt paths and ponds until she found this area; a large circular clearing littered with small wildflowers.

Marinette smiled as ideas came to her, and she immediately jotted descriptions of dresses and bodysuits and outfits down in her sketchbook before starting to sketch.

Marinette was so at peace, she put confronting Fu into the back of her mind, into depths where he couldn't bother her. Marinette happily drew her creations without thinking of anything else, and vaguely wondered why she didn't do this more often.

Marinette wasn't sure how much time had passed, but was drawn from her trance by the buzzing of her phone. She sighed slightly and dug it out of the pocket of her shorts. She sighed once again as a text from Alya popped up on her screen. She really did love Alya, but she was scratching her way under her skin lately.

 _Alya: where are you?_

 _Marinette: getting inspiration._

 _Alya: What does that even mean? Are you doing one of those aromatherapy massage yoga retreats?_

 _Without me?_

Marinette let a laugh escape her and smiled at her phone.

 _Marinette: LOL, no. I'm at a park. Listening to nature and drawing my spring line. You should know I'd never do anything like that without you. ;)_

 _Alya: ok good._

 _Anyway, is this an all day thing? Just asking bc I'm going to lunch with Adri and Nins. Wanna come? I know you said you were gonna be busy all day today, but still._

 _Marinette: sorry Als, I don't want to lose this creativity streak. You know how hard it's been for me lately !_

 _Alya: ok, got it. Better send me some snaps of your sketches!_

 _Marinette: I will. Have fun, love you_

Marinette smiled lightly. Yeah, despite everything, she was pretty happy with her friends, and her life.

"I'm glad to see you're having a good day, Ms. Dupain-Cheng." A familiar voice addressed her. Marinette's head snapped up immediately to the source of the voice. Master Fu was in front of her. Despite his kind smile, Marinette immediately felt nerves take over her, and her good mood came crashing down.

"Fu!" She said, louder than she intended. She winced slightly. She quickly stuffed her sketchbook back into her bag and stood on her feet. He hummed in acknowledgment. He looked at her, his arms behind his back, forever smiling at her.

"What do you want?" She asked. Marinette felt frustration growing within her as she realized how dumb that probably sounded. The man raised an eyebrow.

"I do not think it is a question of what I want, but what you would like from me." He answered. She stared at him and tried to think of anything to say. After a lapse of silence, he prompted her, "Why not start with a single question? You want answers, yes? Ask the first thing on your mind." She nodded slightly. She still didn't like him, not one bit, but she no longer felt threatened.

"Who are you?" She asked. He hummed.

"I am Master Fu. I run a dojo and tea shop in a district separate from yours." He responded. She frowned.

"Okay. Why have you been stalking me?" She shot at him. He blinked.

"I am sorry, Ms. Dupain-Cheng, I have not meant to. I was merely observing you. I believe you have potential." He responded. His response confused her, so she asked,

"Potential for what?" Fu shook his head.

"That I cannot tell you at this moment. Ask a few more questions and maybe then, I can tell you." He replied serenely. Marinette wanted to know, badly, but she knew that asking again would get her nowhere.

"Does this have anything to do with when I saved you from that car? Is this why you've been watching me?" He, again, shook his head.

"I have been observing you before that. The car was a test. I wanted to see if you would save me. In that test, you proved your potential." He replied. Marinette had wanted to get answers out of this, but she just felt herself spiraling further into the confusion. Anger and frustration built up within her, and she started to grind her teeth.

"Do you mind if I ask you some questions, Ms. Dupain-Cheng?" He asked simply. She stared at him and shrugged. She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes aggressively.

"Sure." He nodded.

"Have you been having dreams that don't really feel like dreams?" He asked. Her eyes widened, and she remembered his question last time she tried to talk to him. She sputtered.

"How do _you_ know about that?! How could you possibly know that?" She yelled. She was officially freaked out, but Fu seemed unfazed.

"I didn't. That's why I asked." He responded, a smile on his face. Her mouth dropped open.

"You tricked me!" She said incredulously. His face furrowed in confusion.

"I did not mean to. I simply asked a question. I suspected it, yes, but I did not know." He explained. Marinette just huffed and averted her eyes.

"There have been many things happening, Marinette. Things I have seen. Ladybugs following you, Chat Noir visiting you. You feel like you can't tell anyone what's happening, because you do not know yourself. I can provide some insight, but you have to be honest with me." Fu said delicately, trying to settle her down. Marinette sighed and hung her head. She played with the sleeves of her floral blouse; it was really a pretty blouse. It had sheer, pirate-like sleeves with pastel multi-colored flowers all over it. It was a white blouse, though Marinett'es torso was covered with a black undershirt. The blouse hung loosely on her body. She had paired it with black shorts and black flats. She really was lovely. And she knew that she couldn't avoid Fu by thinking of her outfit any longer.

"Yes. Yes, okay? I've been having weird dreams. The first was a few weeks ago. This blonde girl went crazy and threw some earrings into a river. There was a little floating creature screaming. I think it was named Tikki. And… And Chat Noir was kind of there. It was just a weird dream. That's what I thought, anyway. But they kept coming. It felt like… like I _was_ the earrings. I felt like I was drowning. And I could hear a voice speaking, but not to me. And then, the box washed up on shore, and a blonde woman picked it up, speaking to it. She called it a miraculous. I haven't had one since that dream, though." She responded. She looked up at Fu and was unnerved by the shocked look on his face. She had never seen too much emotion pass across his face. She bit her lip and waited for him to say something. When he didn't, she kept speaking, "Then the weird stuff started happening to me. The ladybugs following me, and Chat Noir cropping up all over the place. And then I started seeing you everywhere. It's so weird!" She exclaimed. Fu shook himself out of is reverie.

"What did this woman look like, Marinette?" He asked. His voice sounded far away, like he was thinking about something somewhere else. She exhaled a breath and tried not to get upset again; she didn't understand what this had to do with anything, but answered his questions anyway.

"Umm… She was tall and thin. She had pale white skin. Her hair was long and blonde. She had a sunhat on and a white dress. She also… she had like, some type of turquoise pin on her shoulder. The miraculous washed up on a white sand beach. There were trees in the background. I can't really describe it better than that." She responded. He stayed quiet for a moment and Marinette could practically see the gears turning in his head. She chewed her lip more.

"Can you draw it?" Fu asked suddenly. Marinette's eyes widened slightly at the request, but nodded. She briefly thought of Nathanael and wished he were here to paint the picture for her.

"I'm not a great artist, I usually just do clothes sketches, but I can try. However, you need to start giving me some answers." Marinette said firmly. She sat back on the ground and pulled her art supplies from her bag. Fu nodded in agreement.

/

About five minutes of silence later, Marinette had a crudely drawn and colored in drawing of a peacock on the paper. Fu simply stared down at it in amazement.

"So, the peacock wielder has found the ladybug…" he mumbled, thinking.

"What?" Marinette asked. Nothing was making sense.

"Alright. I will start at the beginning, but you must stay with me, okay?" Fu said, his demeanor entirely serious. Marinette nodded and looked at the man in wonderment. She sat back down against the tree, and he was pacing back and forth in front of her.

"Long ago, an alchemist by the name of Nikola Flamel created things called Miraculouses. It's a set of seven jewelries: A ring, a pair of earrings, a hair pin, two brooches, a necklace and a bracelet. But they weren't just jewelry; they were imbued with an incredible arcane energy. The energy manifests itself as the soul of the animal which the jewelry represents.

The ring is a black cat, the earrings is a ladybug, the hairpin is a bee, the brooches are a butterfly and a peacock, the necklace is the fox, and the bracelet is the turtle. These are creatures called kwamis and are the source of the power provided to the jewelry. When someone wears the jewelry, they meet the kwami, and take on the responsibility to protect the world from long-forgotten evils. Each kwami has a different and unique power; they are mystical beings that were born when the universe came together. They were born from every idea, every emotion created with it. They were uncontrollable free spirits, that is, until Flamel created the jewelry to contain them. Not by force, of course; the kwamis agreed to communicate with our world through the jewelry, and thus the Miraculouses were born. Because these ancient kwamis manifest within the jewelry, the wearer is granted the powers of that kwami.

There are only seven that the Guardians know of, but there may be many more for all we know. In my youth, training to be a Guardian, I made a mistake which led to a raid on our Temple and cost us the Butterfly Miraculous. The Miraculouses have been passed down from hero to hero all throughout history, chosen each time by a Guardian. For years and years now, it's been my responsibility as a chosen Guardian to choose who the Miraculous goes to. And I made grave mistakes, yet again," Fu paused to organize his thoughts, and Marinette was desperately trying to keep up,

"The ladybug and the chat are the most powerful two out of the six. They are yin and yang; they are creation and destruction. Their powers are unparalleled, but whenever their Miraculouses are used by the same person, the power that that person will possess is unmatched by any. If someone were to have all six, well, they'd have no trouble ruling the world in a second. The horrors they could unleash by merging the energies of all six Miraculouses… I cannot bear to think of it." Fu shivered. They paused for a minute, Marinette trying to take all of it in, after a few dazed moments, she managed to ask,

"What were your grave mistakes?" She asked, quoting him. Fu sighed and looked down, no longer pacing.

"I gave a Miraculous to a young woman who fell in love with a heinous man. She had a heart of gold, but his soul was a black void. When she told him about Miraculouses, he became obsessed, and spent his life seeking the missing Butterfly miraculous. I cannot tell you who it is; it would disrupt the balance. My second mistake was giving the ladybug Miraculous to the blonde girl you saw in your dreams. She was so pure and was so assured that she was ready, but she couldn't handle it. Had I picked someone else, perhaps we wouldn't be in this situation, with the Ladybug Miraculous missing…" He trailed off. Marinette reeled.

"What do I have to do with this?" Marinette asked; dread settling in her stomach like a boulder settles in a river, though she thought that she already knew the answer.

"Marinette Dupian-Cheng, it seems as though the ladybug Kwami, Tikki, has chosen you herself. Do not ask me – I do not understand it. But somehow, she found your soul. You were chosen for this by forces not even I can understand." He said. Marinette blinked owlishly.

"I don't want it." She replied. Master Fu looked taken off guard. "I just want my normal life. Things were so good." Marinette repeated herself, trying to think, trying desperately to organize her thoughts.

"I… cannot make you do anything. But I hope you'll reconsider. For the sake of everyone you know. Seek me out if you do." He replied, before vanishing. Marinette looked around for him, before slumping back against the tree. Her mind was in overdrive, thinking about everything and anything, trying to sort out how she felt about the exchange that just occurred.

Needless to say, her tranquil day was ruined, and she packed up her bags and biked home.

/

 **A/N: Hey, sorry guys. This past semester got the best of me and I had NO time to write. Then I spent the better part of my time trying to figure out exactly how Mari and Chat would even go on the Moana journey; clearly they don't need a raft, what with planes and trains and all existing. Not to mention, what excuse are they giving their parents to go on a long-ass trip? Especially Adrien. Gah, I still don't know, and it's a mess.**

 **But I haven't abandoned this story, and I still have a lot besides that planned out.**

 **Until next time, guys!**

 **-littlebluewhalen**


	5. Acceptance is the Final Stage of Fate

**A/N: Okay, we're finally getting into the meat of this story! Sorry this has taken me so goddamn long to upload- I seriously had to plot this out.**

 **Anyway, without further adieu, here's this chapter's song inspirations:**

 **-Nothing Lasts by Bedroom**

 **-We're Not Just Friends by Parks, Squares and Alleys**

 **\- Saved by Khalid**

 **/**

It had been a few days since Marinette had encountered Fu and learned the truth, and each night she had stayed on her balcony, hoping a certain chat would stop by. She wanted to talk things over with him, get his opinion, because for some reason she couldn't understand, she needed him to reassure her. She needed him to make the decision.

As it stands now, Marinette didn't have any intention of trying to find the Miraculous. The world was huge, where would she start looking? And why would she be able to handle it when Mami couldn't? Why should her life have to be completely different for the sake of some magic?

In the back of her mind, however, she screamed an entirely different problem. She knew that if she didn't find the Miraculous soon, bad things would happen. She knew, somehow, that she had to get it; if not for anything else, just to help Chat take down Hawkmoth. Her conscience nagged at her, and though she was determined to stay rooted to her normal life, her heart couldn't fight the prospect of doing something new and exciting, especially if it was ultimately going to help out a friend.

"Marinette, are you alright?" Nino asked, turning around in his seat. Marinette had been spacing out for about two whole minutes, staring at the board at the front of the room. Marinette shook her head and apologized, then frowned at Alya's empty seat next to her.

"Yeah, I'm fine Nino. I'm worried about Alya, though; she rarely ever gets sick." She said, only half-lying. Though that wasn't why she was spacing out, she really was worried. An understanding smile crossed his face as he nodded.

"Yeah, I get that. She seems so unstoppable, it's weird that a cold would take her out." He agreed, turning back in his seat after a moment. At that moment, Adrien swiftly walked into the room, out of breath and looking haggard. Marinette gasped in concern and Nino's eyes widened. Everyone's conversation stilled as their eyes trained on him.

"Sorry Mme., I was caught up in-" Adrien started, before straightening and looking around in confusion.

"She's not here yet, dude. Take your seat before you rat yourself out!" Nino said, waving his hand over. Adrien nodded and hurried over to his seat, collapsing in it.

"Adrien, are you al-" Marinette began to ask, before getting cut off by Chloe as she sauntered over to the blonde boy.

"Oh, Adrien, what happened to you?" Chloe asked, a tinge of genuine concern behind her shrill voice. Marinette's eyebrows rose in surprise. Adrien simply waved.

"Nothing, nothing- a morning photoshoot ran later than planned and I didn't sleep much last night. That's all." He said. Marinette seriously doubted that that was all that happened, but she kept quiet.

"Oh, you poor thing! Here, I'll make you feel all better." Chloe said energetically, before hugging him tightly and planting a kiss on his cheek. Adrien went beet red in embarrassment as the class chuckled at their antics. Marinette frowned, but was distracted by Nino tugging at her sleeve and miming throwing up. Marinette stifled a laugh.

"Alright children, since your teacher is not here yet, I will be filling in until she does arrive." A tall woman with brunette hair walked in with a gray skirt-suit on. Chloe quickly scrambled back to her seat, and Adrien sunk down in embarrassment. The class nodded in agreement, and while rollcall was being taken, Marinette was having an internal battle with herself.

Adrien looked like he was tired and hungry. He looked like she did after she pushed herself on an all-nighter for a clothing project and forgot to eat anything. Her battle was: should she give him her breakfast that she meant to eat before class started this morning? Would he appreciate it or would he think it was creepy? Would he even care at all?

"Dupain-Cheng, Marinette." The substitute called, and suddenly Marinette came back to Earth, her mind made up. Her hand rose into the air, and she called out a pleasant, "Present!". As the teacher moved down the list, Marinette quietly rummaged through her bag, and pulled out two danishes. She quickly scribbled _"you look like you need something to cheer you up"_ on a notebook paper and kicked Adrien's chair lightly. He turned around in confusion, and with red tinting her cheeks, she sneakily handed him the danishes, to which he accepted hesitantly. His eyes scanned the note, and he beamed at her, mouthing a "thank you", and turning back around.

She saw him immediately unwrap the sweets and devour them quickly, and she felt a little bit proud of herself.

/

The day had gone by as quickly as it had come, with nothing eventful happening. Marinette, Nino and Adrien had just disembarked from school, set on visiting Alya at her home to make sure she was okay.

"Oh, and then I said-" Nino said, waving his hands frantically, telling an elaborate story, when he was suddenly interrupted by an explosion. The three teens turned immediately to the noise, and in an instant felt the intense shockwave that passed through the ground. Marinette stumbled and grabbed onto Adrien, who seemed to be on alert.

"Is that an akuma attack?" Nino asked, before another explosion sounded, much closer to the three of them, causing them to clap their hands over their ears as they struggled to maintain their ground. Marinette grit her teeth and looked at where it came from; black smoke was rising from the buildings a few streets over.

"We need to get to safety-" Marinette started to instruct, before a laugh was heard almost right above their heads. They whipped around wildly, but didn't see anyone.

"You all think I'm invisible… no one ever sees me, no one ever cares if I don't even show up for school… I bet you were excited to have a substitute! Well, now I'm actually invisible, but you will never have the chance to ignore me again!" The voice screeched, demented and twisted. Suddenly, the ground near Nino shook and a crater appeared, and he fell, screaming, before Marinette caught him and pulled him back. She shielded him and closed her eyes, taking deep breaths.

"Holy _shit_! We have to get out of here!" Nino yelled, trying to break away, and getting immediately stopped by another strike to the ground. He screamed and went back to Marinette's side.

"Nino, I need you to calm down, and quiet down." She said, aggressively shushing him. He nodded in fear, not having the slightest clue what she was doing, but trusting her. Adrien looked at her, confused but impressed. He would have tried to get away to turn into Chat Noir, but there was no way the akuma was going to let him leave…

"Step left!" Marinette suddenly shouted, and they both did as she said without hesitation. A moment later, a crater appeared where they stood, and another shockwave rocked them. In an instant, Adrien realized what she was doing. She was listening for footsteps, or any type of movement.

"I think we should all try to get away," Nino said, "we should, like, totally split up, gang!" He yelled. Suddenly, Marinette grabbed him by his shirt and swiftly traded places with him, spinning him into her spot. In a moment, the akuma picked Marinette up and jumped into the air.

"Get away from here!" Marinette screamed above the roars of the villain, "Chat Noir will be here soon!" She said, and soon, both boys fled the scene. Nino ran to get help, any type of help from the nearest police station, and Adrien found a cozy back alleyway to change into.

"Plagg, Claws Out!" Adrien yelled, and before he knew it, a dark power surged his veins, and he jumped from the wall of the building he was in front of onto the rooftop. In that instant, he saw Marinette flying through the air in the opposite direction of him, having finally been thrown away from the villain. His heart stilled, and he leapt into action. He soared off of the rooftop and ran along the street, his cat ears swiveling in every direction, trying to find his invisible foe.

"Not so fast, kitty cat!" A voice called from behind him. He growled; he was not doing this right now. He had to get to Marinette first and make sure she was okay; she'd get seriously injured in a fall from that height. Chat stopped and turned on a dime, sweeping his staff from side to side. Directly behind him, he felt his baton connect, and he put all of his strength into swinging it off to the side. He heard a faint hiss of pain, and felt a thud somewhere to his far left. Without thinking, he turned back around in an instant and started leaping towards Marinette again.

She was screaming; she was coming to the ground like a falling comet, and she was going to make impact, and she vaguely wondered how bad it would hurt. A thought flashed across her mind that this was truly dangerous; if it had been anyone else, a civilian or a child…

Suddenly, she wasn't hitting the ground, but something solid, yet soft hit her in the air. She peeked her eyes open and all she saw was black.

"Run, Marinette. I can't let you get hurt." A voice hissed in her ear, and suddenly, it was gone. Marinette was sitting on the ground, confused, and she saw Chat bounding back towards the center of the fight. But Marinette couldn't run; how was he going to fight this alone? But was she just another target to use against him?

A bubble of extreme gratitude arose in her chest as she watched him run back to the fight; the civilians and all the Parisians had him to thank for their safety against these monsters. He just proved that to her in-person, and she knew that he would continue to do so, time and time again.

Marinette snapped out of her daze and scrambled into the tree line and watched him. Chat was still as a statue, listening for any sounds his opponent might make. He jumped out of the way, but just as soon, his villain kicked him in the back. Chat got back up in an instant and listened, then swung and missed.

Marinette watched in anticipation; he was smart in listening for the attacker, but he couldn't hear their limbs and where they would be.

She then heard a light growl, and suddenly Chat was swinging nothing and launched it into the air. Marinette silently cheered, but she wondered how long he could keep this up. If only he could see his opponent; didn't he once say something in one of their balcony talks about the person being possessed and having to crush the possessed object? How was he going to find it?

She bet that he didn't know. She bet that his plan was to fight until exhaustion.

Marinette looked all around her, frantically, an idea forming in her head. She looked across the streets, left and right, until she spotted what she was looking for. Looking to make sure that Chat was still fighting, she dashed across the street and down the block, fleeing into the hardware store. The bell rung as she slammed the door shut, leaning her back against it and rasping for air. She was internally impressed with herself for not tripping the whole way here. She looked around, looking for an employee, before noticing all of the other people in the store, looking terrified, hunched between aisles and counters. Marinette's bluebell eyes scanned the room once again before her eyes settled onto a girl wearing a bright orange vest; she was a girl about her age with short brown hair and glasses.

"Hey! I need a lot of paint, it's to help the akuma outside, I'll pay you later, please!" Marinette replied. The worker nodded and uttered out,

"It's… it's in aisle 46."

"Thank you so much!" Marinette yelled, before dashing to the aisle. She frantically pulled out a gallon of neon green paint and opened it with a paint opener she found on the paint desk and ran back outside, looking around wildly for Chat. She spotted him; he was flying through the air and landed roughly on the pavement of the street, close to her. Her heart clenched, and she hoped to god her plan would work. She saw him stagger to get back on his feet, and suddenly he launched himself at nothing once again; this time he was wrestling the figure to the ground.

"Hold her!" Marinette screamed. Her feet moved before she knew what she was doing, and Chat looked at her in alarm, but did as he was told. He held Invisawoman's arms behind her back and hid behind her, letting Marinette do whatever she was doing. The villain was screaming, and as Marinette was running, she put one hand underneath the bucket and hefted the paint, splashing it where Chat was holding seemingly in air, and it worked. Invisawoman thrashed wildly, kicking Chat relentlessly, but Marinette quickly dumped the bucket on her, sure to get her from all angles. Suddenly, Invisawoman broke out of Chat's grasp, and barreled straight towards Marinette.

It all happened at once; Marinette swung the empty metal bucket in defense, which hit Invisiwoman in the head, then Chat grasped onto a bulging purse at her side, disintegrating it. Suddenly, a purple butterfly flew out of it, and the woman slouched into Marinette's arms. Marinette watched as Chat jumped away from her and caught the butterfly in his staff. He quickly came over to her, wobbling slightly, and gently took the woman out of her arms. He roused her and she awoke. She was still covered in green paint, as they now were.

"Go home and get some rest." Chat said gently, holding the terrified woman, then letting her go. She nodded and ran off in confusion. Chat then rounded on Marinette, who sat down in exhaustion.

"What were you doing?" He hissed at her, eyes narrowed. Marinette was taken aback; hadn't she helped?

"I thought I was helping." She said in confusion, looking up at him. He sighed and plopped down next to her, laying fully on his back. He looked at her and patted the ground next to him. She got up and jogged across the street to grab her forgotten backpack, then came back over and laid down next to him. They were on the sidewalk, and if anyone had noticed, it probably would have been weird.

"You did, tremendously, thank you. That was really quick thinking," Chat said, and Marinette felt herself fill with warmth at the praise, "but you still could have gotten hurt. Aside from being a civilian, you're one of my closest friends, Marinette." He said, using the softest voice she ever heard him use. She rolled onto her side delicately, the adrenaline rushing out of her body, and put one of her hands over his torso. She closed her eyes and drew closer to him, and he blushed.

"Chat, I can't see you get beat up like that." She murmured. Chat looked down at her, surprised, and sighed once more. He shook her lightly.

"Come on, I'll take you home." He offered, before standing up and helping her to her feet.

"No, you've done enough today." She replied.

"Please, let me. You did help me out, after all." He replied. The sound of sirens were now in the distance; firetrucks barreled towards the streets where she ruined the buildings, and police were doing checks on all of the streets for civilians. She shrugged, and as soon as he picked her up bridal style, a thought came into her mind.

"Oh, I have to pay that hardware store for their paint!" She said, prying out of his arms. He simply held her tighter against him.

"I'll do that after I take you home." He said. And before she knew it, he was running and leaping through the streets, with her body flush against his.

/

By the time Marinette had landed on her balcony and Chat had bid her a farewell, she knew that she definitely had to find that Miraculous.

If for nothing else, she had to, for Chat. He spent all his time getting beat to hell and back for no reward other than knowing that he kept others safe. He was never rude, never mean or malicious; of all of him that she had seen, all he ever wanted was to do good.

She had to find that miraculous.

Her musings were interrupted by the ringing of her phone. Marinette jumped then grabbed the device from her backpack, quickly swiping her thumb right.

"Hey, Nette, are you okay?" The voice on the other line asked. Marinette smiled warmly at the voice on the other line and the beloved nickname that only Nino seemed to use.

"Hey, yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I tried to help Chat Noir, then he took me home. I'm okay – you're alright, right?" Marinette responded, trying to assuage his fears.

"Yeah, I'm cool – I got the police, and once they got to Vie Street, they found the woman and took her to the hospital to check for injuries and take a statement," Nino said, "It was Madame Bustier."

"Yeah, I saw. Poor Mme…" Marinette said sadly. There was a moment of silence before Marinette spoke up again. "I'm sure Alya's going to be mad that she missed the action." Marinette said absent-mindedly, leaning her arms against her railing, and feeling the wind blow lightly through her hair. She heard Nino's laugh on the other end.

"Well, she already updated the Ladyblog with the public information given by the police. She was pretty sour about missing it, because there's no live-action footage yet." Nino said fondly.

"Oh, I can imagine," Marinette laughed lightly, "Oh hey, have you gotten in contact with Adrien?" She asked, concerned.

"Yeah, as soon as we split up, he ran back towards his house and Gorilla picked him up on the way. He's at his house right now." Nino replied smoothly.

"Oh, good. Man, that was scary… I wonder if his dad will let him out of his house again after almost getting in the middle of an akuma attack." Marinette wondered aloud, worry seeping into her voice. Nino sighed.

"Yeah, I feel that." He said. They were silent for a few moments, and Marinette turned around and started padding towards her room. Suddenly, her phone beeped. She paused at her window and looked down at her phone. Alya was calling her.

"Hey, Nino, I'll text you- Alya's on the other line."

"Yeah, good luck with that!" Nino laughed, then hung up. Marinette quickly swiped to answer her phone.

"Mari, are you okay?" Alya replied, worry evident in her voice. Marinette's eyebrows creased in confusion.

"What, yeah, I am. What's up? Are you okay?" Marinette asked.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine. My little sister got sick from daycare, so she pretty much took out my entire family. It's just a cold, but I had a fever this morning, so my dad told me to stay home. I'll be back tomorrow- anyway! That's not even important!" Alya explained.

"It's important to me! I was worried about you." Marinette chastised her friend lightly.

"Well, I went back to sleep this morning, and I texted you after lunch when I woke up, but I don't think you've checked your phone. Anyway- Nino told me that y'all were stuck in an akuma attack, and you saved him by trading places. Secondly, it just came out online – a video crew got the akuma fight on camera! They were filming a clip for the news station a few streets over, where the explosions first occurred. They followed the action in the news helicopter and got a birds-eye view!" Alya said, excitement seeping back into her voice.

"Okay…? And?" Marinette replied, now climbing back into her room. She set her backpack down on her bed, and walked over to her dresser. She put her phone on her desk and put Alya on speakerphone.

"And?! Girl, it caught everything! Like how you saved Nino and got thrown and Chat caught you just in time, but you didn't run, you came back with paint and helped Chat bring down Invisawoman! That was so smart, Marinette! And then he whisked you away…" Alya said, a hint of suggestiveness on her tongue. Marinette went bright red and pulled out a too-big light gray t-shirt and a pair of black athletic shorts.

"Alya!" She chastised, ignoring Alya's cackle, "It wasn't anything like that… He just took me home. I've been up on my balcony – and yes, he left – talking to Nino on the phone. And I didn't even realize what I was doing, honestly. I just felt like I had to help, ya know?" She said, before changing into her comfy clothes.

"Yeah, I do- you've always been like that. Plus, he does do everything on his own. You probably saved him a lot of time." She said. Marinette nodded, though Alya couldn't see it. "Have you checked your phone, or talked to your parents? The footage is on the news soon, so you probably better talk to them before they see it." Alya replied.

"Oh, you're right! Thanks, Alya- I'll talk to you later." Marinette responded before hanging up and walking downstairs.

/

"Hey, Mama, Papa! Can I talk to you guys for a second?" Marinette called as she walked down the stairs. She listened as her voice reverberated off of the walls, waiting for an answer. She frowned slightly when none came, only to hear her dad's boisterous laugh rock the wall of their house from the kitchen. Marinette smiled to herself as she followed the sound.

"What's going on?" A confused voice cut through their war. Tom and Sabine were currently engaged in battle, throwing leftover clumps of dough at each other. Marinette stared at her parents; her mother's hair was spattered with flour and there were tiny pieces of dough threaded throughout it and all over her clothes. Her dad, meanwhile, looked as though he'd been slapped many times with dough. His hat was on the floor, crumpled and forgotten, and he had globs of dough stuck to his arms and hands. They stilled in their motion and looked over at their daughter. Her dad laughed once again.

"Your mother here thought she could best me in a doughball fight! She should have known better." Tom Dupain said smugly while Sabine glared daggers at him.

"Actually Papa, it seems like mom's got you good." Marinette giggled, grinning at her dad as Sabine barked a victorious laugh.

"Marinette, no! Don't take her side!" Tom exclaimed, utterly wounded.

"Well honey, what brings you down here? I thought you were doing homework." Sabine asked kindly, trying to extract dough from her hair. Marinette's smiled faltered a bit.

"What is it, sweetie?" her dad's voice echoed in her ears.

"Well, before you guys see it from TV, I just wanted to let you know that I kind of…. Got stuck in the middle of an akuma attack and helped Chat Noir take it down." Marinette rushed, saying the second half of her sentence as one word, looking anywhere but her parent's eyes. Tom's eyes grew wide as saucers as he processed what she said, and Sabine dropped the small mound of dough that was in her hands.

"I… what?" She asked, her voice a little panicked. Marinette bit her lip.

"Yeah, but I'm totally fine! No injuries at all – she tossed me, but Chat Noir was there to catch me. He saved me." She said, her left hand coming up to rub her right arm nervously. Tom finally blinked and looked down at his daughter.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Tom said, collecting his daughter in his arms in a hug as Sabine walked over and started fussing over her, checking her for injuries.

"Yes, Mama, Papa, I'm fine! I promise, I wouldn't lie to you guys." Marinette said, internally cringing at the fact that she would most likely, definitely have to lie to them in the semi-near future. "Also, you guys are getting flour all over me!" She jokingly said, trying to lighten the mood a bit. Tom smiled at her lightly.

"You deserve it, for scaring your folks like that! No one likes to hear that their child was thrown across Paris." Tom ribbed back, Sabine simply nodding along with him. Marinette's smile dimmed slightly.

"Now, what do you mean you helped Chat Noir?" Sabine asked, dusting some flour off of Marinette's shoulder.

"Well, the akuma was invisible, so I found paint and splashed it on her so he could see her. There's videos I think…" Marinette trailed off, then groaned as she realized that she was most likely going to be on the news.

"Oh, my little girl is a hero, too!" Tom shouted boisterously. Marinette laughed as he hugged her and Sabine again.

"But, honey, next time you're caught in an attack… please do your dear old parents a favor and run the other way." Sabine said gently, patting Tom's cheek. Marinette nodded meekly.

"Y-yes, maman, I promise."

"Good!" Sabine smiled, hugging her daughter lightly once again.

"Now… time to see if you can beat the champion!" Tom roared suddenly, and before she knew what was happening, Marinette was getting pelted by small dough balls. She laughed aloud and broke from her mom's embrace, ducking around their center island, a doughball poised in her hand, ready to fire back at him.

/

After the conversation with her parents, Marinette went back to her room to finish her schoolwork. She sat at her desk and pulled out her binder, then checked her phone for the first time that evening. Blue eyes widened in surprise when she saw that she had three missed texts from Alya and two from Nino (from before the calls), two texts from Adrien, and six messages in their groupchat (lovingly dubbed "Loser's Club"), and thirteen texts from the class groupchat. As she clicked through the texts, she started with Alya's:

 _ **Alya**_ _: girlll fill me in on what happened at school, I feel like shitttt, lil sis got us allll sick_

 _ **Alya**_ _: Nino just told me that you, him and Adri were on the way to my house when an akuma hit ? Are you okay?_

 _ **Alya:**_ _Ok I'm calling you, don't freak me out like this Marinette_

Marinette smiled at her friend's care. Her eyes roved over to Nino's.

 _ **Ninny**_ _: Marinette, where'd you go? Police said no one was there cept for a green woman ! It was our teacher btw_

 _ **Ninny**_ _: Okay seriously, wya_

Marinette chucked to herself, then leant back in her chair, scrolling to Adrien's message. It was sent after the akuma attack was already over.

 _ **Adrien**_ _: Marinette, are you alright? I'm not sure what happened after I ran – Gorilla picked me up on my way, and I've been holed up in the mansion since. I expect that my father will be worried, even if he is a little bit hard on me sometimes, but I hope I'll see the light of day again!_

 _ **Adrien:**_ _Please respond soon so that I know you're okay. Did you make it home safely?_

Marinette beamed at her phone and read the text over and over again. She, too, desperately hoped that his father wouldn't keep him in the mansion after this. She couldn't bear it. She quickly typed a response.

 _ **Me:**_ _Yeah, sorry – I actually got home a little bit ago and had to talk with my parents and Alya. I'm all safe, and I'm so glad to know that you are too!_

Marinette grinned as she backed out of that conversation and scrolled to their little groupchat. Alya had apparently sent in the link to the video footage; Nino said how badass she was, and Adrien was simply happy that she kept safe. Alya said she was like superhero material. Marinette smiled softly at her friends then looked at the class groupchat. Alya had sent the link there too, and everyone was discussing how cool she looked. Marinette blushed, hating the attention, but at the same time, not minding it.

She sighed lightly, and put her phone down, pulling her binder open and grabbing her textbook. Regardless of what happened today, and how genuinely scary it was, she still had to do well in her schoolwork.

/

The next day was more eventful than Marinette would have preferred; as soon as she walked through their classroom door, her classmates swarmed her and congratulated her, and they assaulted her with a million questions. She stammered and blushed her way through them before Alya pulled her to her seat and answered them for her. Alya still wasn't at 100%, but she was ready to defend her best friend.

The day went by in that fashion, and before she knew it, she was collapsed on her bed at home. This is one of the very few times that she was glad that the bakery downstairs was slow; she wasn't sure if she could handle interacting with more people right now.

Marinette breathed deeply. She loved the support that she got from the class (sans one Chloe and Sabrina), and she loved how concerned her friends were for her wellbeing, but she still had a limit on the amount of human interaction that she could handle.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft tapping at her window. She shot up and excitement filled her body; only one person would be knocking on her window. She scrambled to it and opened it, and was greeted with Chat's stunned face. It quickly formed into a smile.

"Well, purrincess, eager to see me, are we?" He teased lightly. She beamed at him before motioning for him to back up so she could get out.

"Oh yeah, it's allll about you, Chat." She shot back, crossing her arms and nudging him with her elbow. He laughed.

"I just came to make sure that you were alright," Chat said, looking her up and down, "After yesterday." He said, locking eyes with her then. She felt her face grow warm. She nodded.

"I'm fine… are you?" She asked, eyeing his body. He laughed.

"I'm always fine." He replied. She looked skeptical and narrowed her eyes, before quickly reaching out and palming his side. He jumped away and hissed in pain.

"Yeah, right. How many bruises do you have?" She asked, concern drenching her words. Chat frowned and stepped back.

"Don't worry, Marinette. It's part of the job." He said, "anyway, I'm glad you're alright. I had better go." He said, before swiftly turning around. Marinette surged forwards and grabbed his tail, pulling on it lightly. He turned around in alarm, his green eyes wide. Marinette chewed her lip, surprised by her own actions. She released his tail and cleared her throat.

"Don't leave yet. I have to talk to you." Marinette said, averting her eyes to her hands.

"About what?" he asked curiously, not moving.

"About… the Miraculouses." She mumbled out, before reaching forward to grab his hand and guiding him to sit down on her nearby chairs. His eyes widened and he stood shock-still. She plopped down in the chair beside him and sighed.

"Look… I talked to Fu, and he told me everything-" Marinette started, before being interrupted.

"Marinette, dinner is ready! Come on down for a bit, honey!" Her father's voice boomed. She shrunk and sighed in mild frustration.

"Look, Chat, I need to talk to you about this. Please, please don't leave – you can hang out in my room if you want, but don't leave. I won't be long." She said. He hadn't said anything, and every instinct in him was telling him to run, but when he met her eyes, he saw only pleading and desperation, and he stayed rooted to the spot. He simply nodded.

Marinette hesitantly ruffled his hair then scampered back inside.

A blush adorned Chat's face, and he sighed in frustration.

She talked to Fu? Does that mean that she really knows everything?

When Fu first told him about the lost Ladybug Miraculous and about how he thought Marinette could be the one, well, he didn't think anything of it – he had just arrived in this area, and he wasn't really friends with Marinette. But over the months, he had come to cherish her as a beloved friend and confidant – both as Adrien and Chat. He really, really didn't want to see her get hurt or go through the same things he did. Part of him hoped that she was going to tell him 'sorry, but no, I'm not Ladybug'.

Chat groaned in frustration and looked to her open window that she had disappeared through moments ago. He let his curiosity overtake him and slunk towards the window before lightly dropping into her room. He looked around; the room was so Marinette. Of course, he had been in her room briefly as Adrien whenever the Core Four all did something as a group, or a few weeks ago when they were looking at the dress she made. Regardless, he hadn't been in it for a long period of time – in other words, he wasn't able to take an in-depth look and snoop around.

He padded over to her desk and workspace first, and noticed that she had just started her homework. Her desk was adorned with pictures of her and Alya, her and Nino, and to her surprise, pictures of her and him. He smiled lightly, and picked up a group picture of the four of them. His friends kept him afloat; they were his drive as Chat Noir, his drive to get hurt and fight and do it all over again, just to keep them safe. He looked up and noticed above her desk was a string of polaroid pictures of her family, looking happy. Chat felt warmth invade him, as if that was a picture of his family he was looking at. The love radiated from it. He put the picture in his hand back down and moved to a framed picture she had on her wall; it was a goofy class picture, where even Chloe was smiling. He smiled at his classmates.

Chat walked around the room, looking at her most recent designs. He flipped through her sketchbook absent-mindedly before his breath caught in his throat.

It was crudely drawn, but there it was, the Peacock Miraculous. Chat's eyes widened and his breath hitched before quickly putting her sketchbook back on her desk and moving to sit on her chaise. He breathed deeply. Had she seen that in a dream? He supposed that she would tell him tonight, probably.

Chat laid on the chaise and sunk into it, trying to clear his mind from any worry. He focused on his breathing for a long time and was almost lulled into a sleep when he heard footsteps. He quickly jumped up and scrambled to her bed, ready to make a quick getaway through her window if it was anyone but Marinette.

His fears were cleared whenever her blue-black hair peeked through the door in her floor. She seemed to be struggling, so he leapt forward to help her.

"You need help, Marinette?" he asked, coming over to her. She looked up in slight shock before nodding, and handed him a plate with tin foil over it, a bottle of water, a first aid kit and a bag of ice. Confusion took his features as he gathered the items in his arms, and she finished making her way up.

She got up and closed the door, sighing.

"Thanks, Chaton. You can sit on the chaise or my bed." She said, though he felt as though they were instructions. He nodded dumbly and chose the chaise. He sat down roughly and put the items she handed him next to him. He looked out of the window, noticing that the sun was starting to go down.

"Alright. First things first, have you eaten?" she asked, and his attention was called back to her. He locked onto her eyes and noticed that she was very close, trying to read him. She was standing up, looking down at him while he tried to make himself comfortable on the chaise. He shook his head slightly. She sighed.

"I thought so. I mean you probably go to school too, and you came over right as I got home, practically. Well, here- I grabbed you a plate of dinner from our table. They say not to feed alley cats, but I can't stop myself." She said with a bit of humor, handing him the tin-foil covered plate from beside his knee. He stuck his tongue out at her and hesitantly opened the plate and a delicious smell hit his nose; it was baked chicken cordon bleu with a side of white rice and asparagus. His mouth practically watered, and he grabbed the silverware on the side of the plate that she had left there for him. She leaned over and grabbed the water on the chaise and opened it before handing it to him. "Drink some as well. While you eat, I'm going to get some homework done, okay? Then we'll talk." She said, before walking over to her desk and settling herself in. Chat began to eat slowly, savoring the taste of the food; the meals that he had at home were pretty good, as they had a personal chef on the premises, but this was a nice, lovingly prepared and homecooked meal.

As Chat ate, he studied Marinette's back. This girl was so selflessly kind; not even just to Chat, but to everyone. Unbeknownst to her, he was smiling at her while he ate, enjoying every minute of his current predicament.

About fifteen minutes later, Chat had finished everything on his plate and was deeply satisfied with his meal, feeling full and content. He looked around, unsure of where to put his empty plate, and decided to simply ask the girl in front of him.

"Marinette, where should I put this?'' His voice spoke up in the silence. Marinette turned in her chair, and seeing that he was done, got up and walked over to him, taking the plate from his hands and setting it on her desk. She walked back over to the chaise and picked up the supplies she brought up and sat down beside him. She sat cross-legged and turned towards him, emotions splaying across her face. Chat immediately sobered up.

"How'd you like it?" She asked.

"Oh, it was great! Your parents are excellent chefs as well as bakers. Thank you." Chat said honestly. Marinette grinned at him a bit, before motioning him to turn towards her.

"Awesome. Well, now I'm going to try to dress your wounds, okay?" She asked.

"Marinette, that really isn't necessary. I tended to them last night." He said. She frowned.

"Yeah, alone. Come on, Chat. Just… let me." She said. He sighed; he liked her strong-willed nature, but it could be mildly annoying.

"Fine." He said, and the entire upper half of his suit peeled away and faded into thin air. Marinette sucked in a breath.

"Chat, I'll never stop being sorry that you have to go through this." Marinette said quietly, before grabbing her first aid kit. She set the bag of ice on her floor and opened the kit, grabbing alcohol, cotton pads and gauze.

Chat had bruises all over his body from relentlessly attacking Invisiwoman over and over again. The worst was a long cut on his arm that was sloppily covered by a bandage, and looked as though it had been re-opened somehow. Blood was faintly smeared under the bandage. The other thing was a giant bruise on the left side of his ribcage, from being tossed onto the ground by Invisiwoman.

"Don't, Marinette. I could stop if I wanted to." He said. She frowned and opened the alcohol before pouring some onto her cotton round, and slowly taking the bandage off of his arm.

"I know." She said, voice wavering. He stayed silent.

Marinette leaned forward slightly, moving out of her cross-legged position and sitting on her knees. She applied the alcohol to his arm, and he sucked in a breath. She shot him an apologetic look. She cleaned the dried blood around his wound, and dabbed into the wound itself. She repeated this process with another cotton pad, to ensure it didn't get infected.

"How are you hiding this?" Marinette murmured before retreating to the first aid kit to grab anti-infection salve.

"Long sleeve shirts and the best foundation and coverup money can buy." He muttered, eyes focusing anywhere but the girl in front of him. She nodded sadly, before leaning forward once more and carefully applying the salve. A cooling sensation overtook his arm, and he was suddenly very grateful for her. He looked down at her, though she couldn't see; he was looking at the top of her head, because she was bent over his wound. His eyes shone in adoration.

"Thank you, Marinette." He whispered as she grabbed the gauze and wrapped it around his wound. Once she was done, she looked up, only to find that his face was much closer than she thought it was. She looked into his eyes, her own blue ones roving over his face. Her lips parted automatically.

"You're welcome." She whispered back. They were so close, their words and breath intermingled. He stared intensely at her, eyes shining with something she couldn't understand. He grabbed her hands and rubbed his thumbs over them. "You're always welcome." She said. He smiled slightly, and released her hands, wrapping his arms around her waist. She stumbled forward on her knees slightly, rising on them, and before she knew it, his face was buried in the crook of her neck. She was taken aback, but smiled faintly, and hugged him back around his neck, burying her face in his hair. He mumbled something that she couldn't quite catch, and she took a deep breath. She squeezed him lightly before pulling away. She smiled at him, and he grinned at her. As she settled back to a sitting position, he leaned forwards slightly and kissed the top of her head.

"Chat, I've been thinking about the Ladybug Miraculous." She said, bringing up what she really wanted to talk about, while grabbing the somewhat-melted bag of ice on the floor and handing it to him. He grabbed it and held it to his left ribcage, hissing at the cold touch.

"Chat, I… I think I want to find it." She whispered. His eyes widened.

"Why?" He uttered in shock.

"Because you need a partner." She said in all seriousness. She was surprised to see him frown.

"No, don't do this for me. I'll be fine. I don't want you to risk your life for me – I really don't want you to risk it at all, honestly." He replied sternly. Her eyebrows shot up. Marinette thought he needed to make the decision for her, and he just did- his denial and utter concern for her just pushed her further and solidified the fact that he needed help.

"I've pretty much made up my mind." She said.

"Marinette, please reconsider- I can't see you get hurt, seeing you fight Invisiwoman yesterday was enough for me." He said, care lacing into his voice as he spoke softly.

"Chat, can't you see that I feel the same? I can't see you get thrown around and hurt just to get back up and fight again the next day. You'll get worn out, Chaton. Even if I didn't know you personally, like I do now, it's not fair. And plus, after Inviswoman, and knowing what Hawkmoth is capable of- and knowing what power the Miraculouses actually have – I want to help. I didn't want to originally, because I love my life and I love my friends and my parents – but I'll see them when I get back from seeking out the Miraculous. And with both Miraculouses, they'll be better protected- they won't get caught up in an akuma attack like I did. It'll be hard, but I think it'll be worth it." Marinette said boldly, much more confident in her words than she felt. Chat was speechless.

"I don't want you to feel guilted into this." Chat said at last, searching her face. She bit her lip then took his free hand into both of hers.

"I'm not. Fu didn't pressure me, he just told me what happened. Chat, I want to save people. Yesterday, seeing the damage that akumas do up close and personal… seeing those terrified people, saving Nino, being a part of the action – It all felt natural." She said while giving his hand a comforting squeeze. Chat didn't say anything for a long time and set the ice pack down. It was then that Marinette acutely realized that she was very close to a very attractive boy with a very attractive body, but she pushed that thought from her mind immediately. Now wasn't the time.

However, when he cradled her cheek in the hand that was holding the ice pack against his ribs, a fluttering warmth came over her even though his hand was cold. He withdrew his other hand from hers and placed it on the other side of her face. His eyes searched hers, and she saw them quickly drop down before looking back up. His thumbs smoothed over her hairline near her eyes, and her own hands rose to latch onto his wrists, keeping his hands firmly in place.

"I don't see a trace of doubt." Chat finally murmured. She smiled faintly, still caught up in the trance that seemed to come over her. It felt like she and Chat were in a bubble of their own making.

"That's because there isn't one." She responded, her voice above a whisper. Once again, Chat's eyes dropped down, and she realized that he was staring at her lips. Her face warmed.

"Well, if you're going on this journey, I'm coming with you." He said, his voice daring her to challenge him.

"Good. I can't do this alone." She responded. She wasn't dumb; she knew that she wouldn't last a day on her own.

He smiled down at her, and tilted her head forward slightly before kissing her forehead. He then released his hold on her, her hands still latched onto his wrists.

"Well, My Lady, where do we begin? And how do we leave for who knows how long without worrying literally everyone?" He asked, waiting to hear her plan. In that moment, she blanched.

"Oh, shit." She said aloud. He laughed heartily, and she laughed with him. "I hadn't even thought of that."

"That's alright, we'll come up with a plan soon. For now, finish your homework and get some rest. My time's almost up, anyway." He replied. She nodded, and for some reason, she felt a weight settle on her at the prospect of his leaving.

And, with that, he was leaping out through her window, and he was gone.

/

Over the past week, Marinette had been in emotional turmoil. She didn't know how long she'd be gone, and had no idea where to even go to look for the Miraculous. She didn't want to leave her family and friends, and she most certainly wasn't sure who was going to fight Hawkmoth if Chat was going with her. There were so many uncertainties, and she didn't know what to do. She didn't want to just disappear, and she definitely couldn't just leave school. She had been writing everything down, trying to come up with solutions, but had come up short.

But deep in her heart, Marinette had a spark of excitement; a feeling like this was what she was supposed to be doing, so she couldn't abandon her decision now. Marinette had almost done a complete 180 whenever it came to this; in the beginning, she was so adamant on distancing herself as far as possible from this issue, but the more havoc that Hawkmoth raged, the more she realized that this was bigger than her.

Although this emotional storm had been raging inside of her, she had stayed relatively normal at school. She talked to all of her friends and classmates, and even went to study groups for their upcoming exams, and hung out with Alya, Nino and Adrien over the weekend. She was going to be sad to leave it, if only temporarily.

Marinette had just stepped out of the shower, and after toweling off, she dried her short navy hair, and tied it up in a bun, still damp. She then changed into her pajamas for the night; a big black t-shirt and yoga shorts. She walked from the bathroom to her room after hanging up her towel to dry, bundling her dirty clothes in her arms and putting them in their laundry room on the way back. Marinette padded to her room quietly; it was later in the night, so her parents were winding down and going to sleep soon. She snuck past their room and back up to her own.

Once she clambered up the ladder to her room, she entered and immediately went to her mirror, taking her bun out and raking her fingers through her hair before grabbing a brush. She then bent over in front of the mirror, her shirt hanging dangerously low, and she brushed the underside of her hair. She then suddenly straightened up and flipped it over, and continued to brush it out. Marinette suddenly gasped and almost screamed when arms encircled her waist and picked her up gently. She, however, knew those black leather sleeves anywhere…

"Chaton, what are you doing in here?!" She asked shrilly, trying to keep quiet, keeping her parents in mind. He spun her around and marched over to the chaise before plopping her down on it and sitting next to her. He grinned at her, his green eyes glinting.

"Well, I did come to talk strategy, but when you weren't here, I decided to hang around for a while. And when you finally did grace me with your presence, I was simply too entranced by your hair to say hi immediately." He explained, his grin widening. Her face burned and she stared at him with wide eyes and an open mouth, before immediately hitting him on the arm and slapping his wrists lightly.

"Don't do that, you scared the hell out of me!" She whisper-yelled, fury in her eyes. She softened, however, when she saw him recoil from her light blows. Her anger dimmed. "What happened to your wrists?" She asked. He shrugged.

"That's not why I'm here, Marinette- and you're right, I'm sorry. I'll wait before sneaking into your room next time." He conceded, sounding slightly ashamed. She frowned.

"Chat, show me your wrists." She commanded, staring him down.

"I don't think so, mon amour." He replied, smiling still. "So, I was thinking that we should wait until summer rolls around, which isn't far now. Only about a month – I can't afford to take off school." He said, glancing at her. She nodded.

"Yeah, I was thinking that, too. But do you think we can find the Miraculous before school starts again?" She asked. Chat mentally sighed in relief, thinking she had forgotten about his wrists, or at least would let it go.

"I hope so. We should gain some direction from Fu, and with your images and dreams, we can kind of make a map. I have an idea for how you can take the journey, but it's going to be very difficult with me – my dad's kind of, er, controlling about where I am. And I have a pretty hefty schedule." Chat said. Marinette's eyebrows rose.

"Oh, really? What's your plan for me?" She asked curiously.

"Well, I was thinking that we could forge a letter of internship from a fashion designer in America. It's far away, so it makes sense that it would last the whole summer. I know it's lying to your parents and friends, but it's better than outright disappearing." He replied. Marinette's eyes widened; yeah, that would work.

"Nice, that's a good idea! Well, tell me about your home life, and maybe I could help you come up with something? It's hard for me to believe your dad's that strict when you're sneaking out to see me at least once a week." Marinette said, to which Chat smirked.

"I can't, sorry. I can't reveal myself to you." He replied. She frowned.

"Well then, how are you going to be by my side for this adventure? Are you going to be Chat the whole time? Your suit can't hold out that long." She replied. Chat chewed on his lip.

"I think when we sleep I'll release it, and there will have to be periods of when we can't see each other. But I have to have your promise and trust that you won't pry or look. Please." He said, entirely serious. She nodded hesitantly.

"Okay, yeah… I can do that. Now, what about Hawkmoth?" She asked. Chat looked away.

"I… don't know. Fu might pick another Miraculous holder for my absence, or… Paris will have to deal, as much as I hate to say it, and trust me I do. Of course… there's always the possibility that he won't attack at all, if he realizes I'm not there." He replied. She nodded.

"Okay, well, we can think more later." Marinette said. Chat looked confused, when suddenly, she was on her knees in front of him on the floor. His face turned bright red and he sputtered.

"Marinette, what- what are you doing?!" He screeched, his entire body becoming hot as she sat on her knees in between his legs. She then snatched his wrists, to which he yelped.

"Pull back your costume, Chat. Now." She said dangerously, narrowing her eyes. God help the person who ever crossed her, Chat thought.

"Marinette, don't worry about it. They're just sore, there's nothing you can do about it." He said, his embarrassment leaking away.

"I won't repeat myself. I just want to see it." She said, each of her thumbs stroking his hands. He growled lowly.

"I don't see why you want to see them when there's nothing you can do to help. And dear god, can you please get off of your knees in front of me!" He said incredulously. She suddenly blushed very deep red, but still refused to get up. "Marinette, you must know what this looks like-" He started, stammering. She blushed darker.

"I know what it looks like, Chat. Show me your wrists and I'll get up." She said, moving closer to him and looking defiantly up at him. He groaned and his costume peeled away from his hands. She gasped; his wrists were bruised blue and purple. "What happened?" She asked quietly, running her thumb over them.

"Last akuma I fought threw me using my baton. All but snapped my wrists as I was holding on." He replied. She was still sitting on her knees on the floor, but he suspected that she was only doing it so that she didn't hurt his wrists by holding them up to her face while at his level. He suspected that that's why she did it in the first place. She did back up, however. He saw her bite her lip in nervousness.

"Look, Marinette, you're doing a lot for me already by even agreeing to help find the Miraculous. That's all I need." He replied. She nodded and looked up at him again.

"Do you have any more injuries that I can tend to?" She asked. He thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Can I still see?" She asked. Chat was confused and a bit insecure, if he was honest. He hated the ugly bruises all over his body. But still, he obliged her, and the top half of his suit peeled away. Marinette look up, her eyes roving all over his body, specifically avoid staring at his abs for too long. She squeezed his hands faintly, then rose and sat on the chaise opposite him. She just stared at him, and he began to squirm. Suddenly, she leant forward and kissed a bruise under his collarbone. He felt an electric current go through him, and it was all beginning to be too much. He hadn't been shown genuine affection in a very, very long time; the last bit of love he had been physically shown was probably by his mother who disappeared three years ago. He banished that train of thought as soon as it had come. He wouldn't consider himself touch-starved necessarily, but this was… nice. It chased his bad thoughts away.

She then kissed his wrists, and another bruise on his left shoulder. She was close, and so warm, and kind, and pretty, and his seventeen-year-old brain was going haywire.

"Mari…" His voice came out strangled with emotion, and she looked up at his face in curiosity. She hummed in response. "You just… are so important." He said quietly. She looked shocked, and a blush rose to her cheeks. She stammered out a thank you. She then looked as though she was considering something, and leaned forward quickly, placing her hands on his thighs, and she kissed him on the cheek. She stayed there for a moment longer, and he couldn't breathe. One of her hands arose from his thigh and caressed his cheek gently. And suddenly, her warmth was gone. She was back on her side of the chaise, looking anywhere but him, a blush dusting her cheeks. Nothing was said for a long time.

"You're important too, you know." She mumbled out, glancing at him briefly. He stared at her.

"I highly doubt that I matter as much to you as you do me. I don't have many close friends." He said, which was true. Don't get him wrong, he was very popular, and everyone liked him well enough; but he hadn't had many genuinely close friends due to his strict modelling schedule and his father's overprotectiveness. Marinette was probably his closest friend, along with Nino. Nino knew almost everything about him as Adrien, but Marinette knew him as both Chat and Adrien, and was there for all of him, even if she didn't know it.

"I wouldn't be going through with all of this if I didn't feel strongly about you or what you stand for." She quipped back, leaning her back on the arm of her chaise, crossing her arms over her chest and staring at him. He looked over her; how she looked so good in still-damp hair and a big t-shirt, he would never know. Maybe Marinette should be the one with a modelling gig. He noticed her eyes roving his body, and suddenly realized that his entire torso was exposed bare to her. He caught her eyes and grinned toothily, and she looked away with a blush. She cleared her throat.

"See something you like, Princess?" He asked in jest. She just looked back to his eyes. He saw her blue eyes drop down to his lips, and look back up, and she smirked.

"Not at all, Chaton." She said back, teasingly. He laughed, and his suit came back onto his skin.

/

The next few weeks rolled by uneventfully, to Marinette's surprise. Her life was back to normal, aside from the visits from her heroic friend. There were no ladybugs, no dreams, and no Stalker Fu. Marinette supposed this was because she had more or less accepted her fate.

School had become merciless; with the end of the schoolyear coming to a close, the teachers were cramming in information, and the students were taking tests every other day. This left all of them feeling quite exhausted. It seemed like everyone in Paris was exhausted, right now; even Hawkmoth had let up with akuma attacks for the time being.

"God, we only have one more week left!" Alya shouted as they walked down the steps of their school. The final bell had just rung, signaling their freedom, and Alya, Nino, Marinette and Adrien had decided to go to a café to celebrate one more week being over. It was a lovely Friday afternoon; the sun was shining brightly, the sky was blue and cloudless, and despite their tiredness, all four of the kids were excited at the upcoming weekend.

Their classmates had all decided tomorrow to meet up at the Parisian Center, where they would spend the day together playing games, hanging out and eating food. All of them were amped up to hang out and have fun with each other after a hellish few weeks of school. And afterwards, starting on Monday, they would have a few days of final exams, and then they would be free for the summer.

Marinette had planned to tell everyone about her summer internship tomorrow, that way no one would be surprised when she just up and left. She had already given the fake letter to her parents, who were incredibly excited for her, but also fearful about the prospect of her daughter being all on her own for the summer, and sad about the fact that they wouldn't be able to hang out. It hurt Marinette, but she knew it was necessary.

"Alright, almost there! What's everyone thinking of getting?" Adrien asked suddenly. Marinette's attention was drawn to him. She had been getting along a lot better with him; she had managed to stop stuttering and actually have genuine conversation with him, mostly in part due to Alya. The more she learned about him, the more she admired him. And Marinette was so glad to be able to be a true friend for him. She also never could have done that without Alya or Nino; they had known about her crush on Adrien practically since it started, and they would go through coaching with her. Recently, she had a breakthrough because Nino had confronted her about it.

"Marinette, you can't hope to ever date him if you can't even be his friend first. You need to be a real friend for him, instead of just being a friend through association. You're going to lose any chance you have with him if you don't get it together."

Hearing that from Nino was mildly surprising, and amongst all of her other stuff that she was going through at the moment, she thought about it a lot, and was steadily working at getting better around him- even better than she was a few weeks ago when they hung out after school at her house. Now they were all genuinely friends, and Marinette had never felt so happy about her life.

She wondered, in the back of her mind, if Chat Noir had anything to do with it. She wasn't oblivious or stupid; he was an attractive young guy and they had chemistry. She felt like she could really be herself and say anything around him, which meant a lot because she rarely felt like she could do that with anyone. She thought that maybe he had something for her; he had said himself that he doesn't really have someone super close to him, so it's easy for those feelings to be bred. But is it true to herself to say that she didn't feel anything for him at all? If that was true, why was Adrien on her mind less? Why did she stare at Chat the way she did? Why did her heart stammer in her chest when he got too close, why did she kiss his bruises, why did she want him to k-

"Earth to Marinette?" A distant voice creeped its way into her thoughts, and a snap in her face shocked her into reality. She jumped slightly, then stumbled over her own feet. Adrien was quick to catch her by the waist and straighten her back up. She laughed nervously, utterly embarrassed. She saw Alya smirking at her, her hand still poised in a snapping motion, and Nino was stifling a laugh.

"If you're quite done with ogling Adrien, we're here." She said teasingly. Marinette gaped and stammered before rushing inside of the café. Adrien laughed good-naturedly and they all followed her inside. It was a cute little café; the walls were a light mint green and had plants in every corner, almost crawling up the sides. There were rows of tables as soon as you walk in the door, but the group headed to the back corner and snagged an empty booth.

Once settled, Nino offered to go order their food at the counter. They each perused the menu, finally deciding on what to eat, and Nino whisked their money away.

"So, what are you guys doing this summer?" Alya asked casually, setting her phone on the table and placing her head in her hand.

"I'm probably doing a lot of modelling stuff with my dad, but I have no idea what he has lined up." Adrien responded. Alya nodded.

"So the usual." Adrien simply nodded and rolled his eyes.

"I, uh, actually accepted an internship offer…" Marinette said shyly, quickly avoiding Alya's eyes. Alya squealed lightly.

"What, where?! And when?" She asked, exuberant for her best friend. She was grinning at her, and grabbed her hands across the table, squeezing them. Marinette felt guilt rock her to her core for lying, but she shared her friend's excitement.

"It's actually for a fashion design firm in America… I applied for a lot, and this is the one that accepted me. I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want to let people down if I didn't get picked for any, I'm sorry! And it lasts all summer, unfortunately." Marinette explained.

"Oh, that sucks… And America, too! Jeez, Mari. The summer is going to suck without you," Alya sighed, but quickly bounced back, "Well, still, I'm excited for you! You had better send me pictures and updates everyday." Alya beamed at her. Marinette smiled back.

Nino, struggling to carry all of their drinks in his arms, made his way back to the table slowly and gently set them down with a huff, then slid back into his seat next to Alya.

"What about you, Nins? Any summer plans?" Alya asked, withdrawing her hands from Marinette, and resting her left arm on his shoulder and leaning on it, peering up at him. A blush tinted his cheeks, and Adrien snickered. Marinette rolled her eyes and passed out the drinks.

"Uh, not really. Family vacation to who-knows-where, and probably mess around with a lot of music stuff." He replied. Alya nodded from her position on his shoulder.

"What about you, Alya?" Adrien asked curiously.

"Well, I also have an internship-type thing, but it's just with the local news here, so I'll still be here all summer. No exciting travelling for me, unfortunately." Alya sighed dramatically, draping her other hand over her forehead. They all laughed a bit at her antics.

"Who else is travelling?" Nino asked.

"Well, you know I'll probably be doing my modelling stuff all summer. But Marinette here actually scored an internship overseas!" Adrien said, a bit proudly. Nino beamed at her.

"That's awesome, 'Nette! Congratulations! Promise to keep us updated!" He said excitedly. She nodded.

"Of course, you guys!" She giggled gleefully.

The group continued to talk about other things; their upcoming exams, which one they thought was going to be the hardest, their study schedules, and their planned day tomorrow. Eventually it swindled to stories and gossip, as the four friends basked in each other's presence and laughter danced in the air.

/

"Chaton." Marinette greeted warmly, her stomach tying up in knots when he flashed his pearly whites at her. Marinette had gotten home a few hours ago, after hanging out at the café with her friends, then spent some time with her parents, and had been studying on her balcony for the last hour. She was happy to see her friend, because she was really tired of studying.

Marinette was laid out on her balcony with a pillow and thin blanket, and she would argue to the death that she had brought up a second pillow and blanket just in case _she_ wanted them. She was on her stomach, head propped up on her hand, books splayed out in front of her. She had been copying notes from her history textbook and creating flashcards. As soon as she heard her railing rattle, she smiled to herself and looked up, eager for the distraction. He jumped down from his perch on her railing and padded over to her, plopping down behind her. She had her fairy lights on, casting a soft glow amongst the two. It illuminated his bright green eyes and made his fangs gleam white. She studied his face for a moment then spoke up.

"What are you doing here, pretty kitty?" She asked. His ears perked up.

"Pretty?" He asked, his voice a purr. She rolled her eyes then looked for him to answer her question. "I talked to Fu." He answered. She rose an eyebrow. "He said that he doesn't expect Hawkmoth to attack while I'm gone, but if he does, he'll take care of it. He told me to accompany you, but reminded me that I can't reveal my identity." He said, looking down at the ground.

"Well that's good, at least, right?" Marinette said while he nodded.

"Yeah, I just wish I could tell you who I am. It would make this so much simpler. As it stands, I'll probably have to wear a disguise around you when we're in public… so when I'm not Chat, just know that the person you see isn't really me, either. But I can't very well go around looking like Chat Noir all the time. Fu did bring that up, and he said he has a pretty good disguise for me." He explained to her. Marinette felt disappointment tug at her heartstrings, but nodded her head.

"I understand." She replied. He stayed quiet for a moment.

"I want to tell you. I didn't at first, but I really want you to know. You're very close to me… Even if you just know me as Chat, you're very dear to me." He said, baring his feelings to her in that moment. He never thought she would reject him in the slightest, but he was still always scared to show too much emotion. Marinette, on the other hand, had stilled. She blushed deeply, and instead of responding, took his hand in hers and squeezed it. He smiled at their interlocked hands, and laced their fingers together.

Marinette then arose from the ground and sat against the wall of her house, tugging Chat to come with her. They sat arm-to-arm, hands still intertwined. Chat slid down the wall and unlinked their hands, only to put his left arm round her waist and pull her flush against him. He put his head on her shoulder, and she laid her head against his. They gazed out across her balcony and sat in comfortable silence.

"Chat, I'm really scared about all of this… I mean, I don't know what it's going to mean for me, for my future, for you… I'm scared to not know where I am, or where I'm going…" Marinette started, "but I'm also really excited. I haven't thought about the fact we'll be spending all of our time together. If there's anyone I want to go on a wild goose chase around the world with, it's you." Marinette finished. She loved her friends dearly, but she felt that Chat would protect her to no ends.

Chat felt his heart soar at her words, and tears sprang into his eyes. He squeezed her tighter and buried his face into her shoulder.

"I love you." He mumbled. He didn't know how he meant it, in which way, platonic or familial or romantic, but he did.

"What, Chaton?" Marinette asked, "I didn't hear you." He simply shook his head.

"'Twas nothing, mon amour." He said, nuzzling her shoulder lightly. "I'm excited too. You've become so close to me over these past two months. In reality… I have a few close friends, but I don't really have anyone in my real life that cares, especially not as much as you do. I'm honored to be going around the world with you, My Lady." He said earnestly. She lifted her head and he looked at her, meeting her gaze. She looked touched.

"Chaton…" She whispered gently, filling the space between them. Nothing else was said between them for a while until Chat shifted, removing his arm from Marinette's side and straightening up.

"Did I interrupt your homework?" He asked, leaning over and pulling her books towards them. Marinette shifted and crossed her legs.

"Kind of, but I was tired of it. I'm studying for my finals." She said, rubbing her face with her hands. He nodded.

"Well, maybe we can review some of these flashcards, at least." Chat suggested.

And that's how the night was spent; remembering useless facts, joking side-by-side, looking up in the night sky and wondering how it all became so different.

/

 **A/N: Okay! I really wanted to use this chapter to move the story forward- it's at about 13,000 words right now, so I figured that I'd stop there.**

 **This chapter was really to develop the relationships between Marinette and everyone a bit more; to showcase how close she is with her family and the core four, and next chapter will involve her relationships with everyone else in the class. This is, of course, to show what she'll be missing when she leaves and how it'll affect her. It also wrapped up some loose ends about how she's going on this journey without worrying everyone and moved the plot along.**

 **Also, just a note: I do NOT consider Marinette and Chat's relationship to be romantic right now. I think Adrien is very confused and very affection-starved and he craves Marinette's attention immensely. I also think physical comfort and platonic touching is important in all relationships; platonic napping and cuddling and hand-holding are all things that I do with my friends, and I think it's very important to forging a deep connection with someone, even if not romantically. On Marinette's side, she sees it as a very platonic "I want to get to know this person" best friendship, although she's also confused. Her and Chat's borders are fuzzy in her mind. In my mind, Marinette has realized that Chat is not very well looked-after, so she tries to fill the roll the best she can, hence her incessant need to try and patch him up after battles or show him intense affection through cheek kisses.**

 **I just don't want anyone to get confused or think the story is moving too fast; I promise you, it's not.**

 **In the next chapter, I hope to get Marinette and Chat all prepared to get on the road (if not actually get them started on their journey!) and expect some Agreste Family Drama. Yes folks, this is where our story is truly starting!**

 **Thanks everyone for supporting me thus far- the support really is what keeps me going.**

 **Bonus scene of her telling her parents? Idk I couldn't fit this scene into the chapter without it ruining the flow so I just Didn't.**

After a quiet night of watching movies with her parents, it was almost time for bed, and Marinette knew that it was now or never, but oh god, she was going to miss this. Her parents had never done anything but love and support her and she was going to outright lie to them to go through with some half-baked plan to go on a chase around the world to find something lost in the ocean so she could become a superhero with the help of a tiny mystical creature as old as existence itself.

"I'm – I got an internship offer for over the summer. For a really nice clothing design company," Marinette started, but before she could get much more out, she was wrapped up in her father's strong arms and being spun around.

"Oh Mari, good job! I always knew you could, you're so bright and such a go-getter! You get that from me, by the way." Sabine commended. Marinette felt bile rise in her throat as guilt settled in her stomach. She was kind of touched by her parent's unwitting faith in her, however.

"Yeah, but- the thing is…" Marinette trailed off, "It's… It's in the United States." Marinette finished quietly, looking at the ground. Her parents quieted down and simply stared at their daughter, then looked at each other.

"And… you're sure this is legitimate?" Tom asked carefully, not wanting to hurt his daughter's feelings. Marinette simply nodded.

"Yeah, it is. I applied, and I got an email of acceptance, and I have a letter as well. You can look up the company – its Barlein, a fashion line totally designed and manufactured in the United States. I just kind of applied to all the programs I could... I didn't think I'd actually get in." Marinette explained. She internally winced at how easily that rolled off of her tongue.

 _I'm doing it for them_ , her mind chided her.

After a lapse of silence, Tom nodded.

"Well then, we'll have to look into this more. But, Marinette, you're 17… you're going into your last year of high school. You're almost an adult. If this is what you want to do…" Tom trailed off,

"We'll support you however we can." Sabine finished for him. She smiled at her daughter and opened her arms for a hug, which Marinette quickly rushed into. Marinette let a few tears fall. She had been so scared that the plan wouldn't work, but really, she was just incredibly moved by how much her parents cared.


End file.
